


Lock Screen Secrets

by TheAuthority



Category: World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Crushing, Drama, Emotional, F/F, Family, Pregnancy, Romance, WWE - Freeform, unlikely couple
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-12
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:15:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 30
Words: 45,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25223746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheAuthority/pseuds/TheAuthority
Summary: Brie Bella and Stephanie McMahon have more history than most, but when their lives begin to unravel - it's each other they turn to. With their unlikely companionship being kept behind a phone, what are they destined to be?
Relationships: Brie Bella/Daniel Bryan, Brie Bella/Stephanie McMahon, Stephanie McMahon/Triple H
Kudos: 22





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Welcome to my first ever WWE fanfiction, Lucky you! Anyway, obviously feel free to comment any feedback/thoughts! Just a few notes to let you know before you read - This takes place in a world where Kayfabe is reality.. sort've? The idea is that Brie and Stephanie actually hated each other during 2014, so as long as you know that, the rest makes sense as you go aha. Also, there are references to Stephanie's daughters. I know she has 3 young girls. But  
> for the purposes of this story - she has two teenage girls. But I think that's it! Enjoy the story ❤️

Returning to WWE wasn't necessarily part of the plan, even if it's only a few matches. But Lord knows how good Brie felt putting Maryse in her place tonight. Besides, the pop from the crowd when her entrance music hit was the biggest adrenaline rush she's had in ages. While being a part time business woman and full time mother was a very fulfilling job, nothing could compare to the excitement of WWE.

Once her brief return was over, Brie's only plans were to go back home and live her simple, cosy life; she'll have to make the most of being in the ring while she still can. Besides, it's more than likely that this will be her final stint with the company as an in-ring worker. Her husband Bryan was desperate to have another baby with her, he has been ever since their first daughter, Birdie, was born. Of course, the idea of never stepping in the ring again upset her - but she'd promised Bryan a second child, so that's the way her life was destined to go.

At the moment, Brie was standing backstage with her twin sister, Nikki; they were talking about Brie's upcoming match at 'Hell In A Cell', tactics for winning and such the like. Nikki was happy to see her sister acting so smiley, being back with the WWE has seemingly done wonders for her. If it wasn't for her neck injury, Nicole would undoubtably be in the ring with her. 

"I can't wait to see you win, I get so pissed off when Maryse is on screen nowadays.." Nikki says.  
"That makes two of us.. Bryan's glad to get his hands on Miz too.." Brie replies. 

Speaking of Bryan, the sisters see him walking up to them, still in his wrestling attire and also a little sweaty from his match. Brie and Bryan have been married for years, and been a couple for even longer - the novelty of seeing him shirtless and sweaty has almost worn off. But she does always remember how it used to be, how attractive she found him in this state, or any state for that matter.

Bryan leans in and kisses his wife. "Hi sweetface.." she says, kissing him back.  
"Hey.. I'm gonna go and get a shower, do you mind waiting?" He asks.  
"No, it's okay. Gives me a chance to catch up with the girls.."  
"And when we get home, we can start making baby number 2.." Bryan chuckles, nuzzling Brie's neck.  
"You guys are disgusting." Nikki jumps in, giggling.

Brie stays quiet. As much as she loves Bryan, and being a mum to Birdie.. having a second child isn't at the top of her own priority list. In her ideal world, Brianna would stick around in WWE for a little longer, have some dream matches, even sneak in a women's championship reign; when it naturally comes to an end, maybe start thinking about a second baby, but prioritising the success of BirdieBee and the Bella brand as a whole. But, the world doesn't comply with Brie's wishes - she's made promises to her husband and gone down a certain path. Besides, no one can have everything.

Walking up to the trio and interrupting their conversation, Stephanie McMahon stands tall in her body hugging, corporate, red dress and black heels. Strangely enough, she was smiling - something that's comforting on most people - but nice Steph was almost scarier than evil Steph. After all, her attempts at kindness in the past have typically for her own gain. 

"Hi guys.. Brie, I just wanted to come over and say that you did great in the ring tonight, you honestly couldn't tell that you'd had time off.." Stephanie says, resting her hand on Brianna's arm.  
Brie shakes her arm away. "Thank you?" 

Granted, it might seem harsh for Brie to do this, especially to a seemingly happy face - but Brie's family and Stephanie's family have some complicated history to say the least. During the years of 2013 and 2014, Stephanie and her husband Paul (who's ring name was Hunter) did all they could to strip Bryan from his WWE championship. When Brie attempted to stand up for her husband, Stephanie took her anger out on Nikki, but unarguably treated Brie the worst. It may have been a long time ago, but there's always been animosity between them since. 

"What do you want Stephanie?" Nikki shoots.  
"I just wanted to congratulate Brie for doing a good job..?"  
"You've never been nice to any of us. Especially Brianna. So if you're going to tell us that our match at Hell In A Cell has some crazy stipulation that'll put us at a huge disadvantage, just get it over with." Bryan says angrily.  
"No.. I honestly just wanted to be nice.." Steph defends herself.  
"Makes a change." Nicole fires back.  
"I.. I-I'll leave.. I know when I'm not wanted.." Stephanie says, almost deflated. "I mean it though. Well done Brie." She adds before walking off.

Bryan and Nikki watch Stephanie leave with very cold eyes, but Brie looks at her almost sympathetically. Of course, there's still bad blood between them, potentially nothing would ever warrant forgiveness. But on the same token, Stephanie did seem genuine. Plus, she has nothing to gain from giving Brie a single compliment, and it wasn't in public either so maybe it was just uncharacteristic kindness? Although, it still begs the question as to why Stephanie would ever be kind to Brie, she's made it obviously clear on several occasions that she hates her? 

"What a bitch." Nikki spits.  
"Really Nicole? Give her some credit.." Brie responds.  
"Credit? Brie, have you forgotten what she did to us?"  
"No, but if I remember rightly, you were her best friend at one point, after you punched me in the face at Summerslam?" She shuts Nikki up. "Look, if you don't want me brining up your wrongdoings, maybe don't bring up hers?"  
"To be fair, Nicole's had a lot less wrongdoings than Stephanie.." Bryan steps in.  
"Guys, I'm not defending what she's done to us! But I've spent my whole career fighting against her. I'm happy to just take the compliment and move on." 

Ever since the Bellas came to WWE, it was apparent that The Authority only cared about you if you were willing to help them. Considering Brie and Nikki wanted to build their own Bella empire, they were never taken to kindly. Also, Brie's marriage to Bryan only fuelled the fire, with him being the fan-favourite anti-authority superstar, it made the Bella twins guilty by association. So it's fair to say that the two families have experienced some turbulence in their coinciding careers. 

But as Brie says, she'd much rather smile at the compliment and forget about it than make a huge deal out of it. Besides, she wouldn't even be with the WWE for much longer - only a month or so and she'll be at home, potentially pregnant with a second child, and Stephanie McMahon being so far back in her mind, that she might as well not even exist. If Brie can somehow convince Bryan and Nikki to stop picking meaningless fights with Steph, their lives would simply become mildly easier. 

"I'm gonna go get that shower.." Bryan announces.  
"Okay.. I'll be in the car sweetface" Brie replies, puckering her lips for Bryan to kiss her, but he walks straight past her.  
Nikki chuckles to herself. "He doesn't like you defending a McMahon.." she says.  
"I didn't defend her!"  
"Whatever.." Nikki brushes her off, before leaving to go and find her friends.

Brianna stays where she is, leaning against the wall, twiddling her thumbs. She didn't think taking a compliment would cause so much drama. All she wanted was for her probable last time in the company to be happy, but instead, she just feels left alone; Brie knows that they aren't exactly Stephanie's cheerleading team, but calling her a bitch and creating pointless arguments only makes them equally as bad. Hopefully, soon enough, they'd realise that.

Regardless on when they realise it - if they ever do - Brie's still alone now, and she's always hated being by herself. Maybe it's a twin thing? Literally from the womb, Brie's had someone with her, so anytime she's completely alone feels odd. So now is simply one of those times. 

Her head hanging low, Brianna begins walking towards the car to wait for her husband. With a bit of luck, he'll be more affectionate when he comes back. Because if there's one thing Brie definitely hates more than an angry Stephanie, it's an angry Bryan.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bonjour all, how're we all diddily doing? What're we thinking thus far?

Brianna steps behind the curtain, her head hanging low - losing to Maryse and Miz wasn't how she planned to end her WWE comeback story. Worst of all, Brie's the one who got pinned; this is most likely her last match with the company, and she got pinned. 

Running up to her with open arms, Nikki hugs her sister, wanting to give her some reassurance. The twins walk to a small corner together, in hopes that they could talk out the emotions quietly. Nikki knew how much this would crush Brie; she's never known someone have such a passion for the business, and now it might be finished with a loss. For any superstar, that's crushing. But especially for Brie, considering there's basically no hope that she'll be in the ring again after tonight.

"Bryan's going to be so mad at me.." Brie says under her breath.  
"He better not be.. a dumb question, but how're you feeling..?" Nikki asks.  
".. I don't know how to describe it, but I feel kind've lost.. I mean, that's it. My career is basically over. What do I do now?"   
"Be a mother.. Aren't you and Bryan wanting a second baby anyway?" 

Supposedly, yes, they are wanting a second baby; in reality, Bryan wants a second baby. Without question, being Birdie's mother was the most important part of Brie's life, and nothing could ever come close. But she's perfectly happy with one child, and thinks she'd be even happier if it stayed that way - being a mother whilst still being able to focus on WWE and her businesses with Nikki. With that being said, it's a fairly long story for a simple question that would only spark even longer conversations, so Brie just nods her head in agreement.

Saving Brie from falling down the spiral of thinking, someone walks up to the pair - a very professional looking Stephanie McMahon, wearing a pretty navy blue dress, her hair in loose, graceful curls. As expected, Nikki looks highly annoyed that Stephanie's there, but Brie decides to listen before giving the evil eyes. 

"If you're here to make fun of Brie losing, don't bother." Nikki says bluntly.   
"What? No.. no, I had no intention of doing that." Stephanie responds. "Although.. I was hoping I could speak to Brie alone for a few minutes?"   
"Like I'm going to leave her with you!" Nicole gets protective.   
"Nikki, honestly, it's fine.." Brie steps in. "I'll come find you after.." 

Begrudgingly, Nikki leaves the two to speak. Naturally, Brie was unsure what to expect from this conversation; it's safer to not presume with someone like Stephanie. Catch her on a good day, she might just compliment you - catch her on a bad day and it's preferable to flee the country. Besides, Brie has to be extra careful, given their history. Granted, Brie doesn't live in the past, but it pays to be weary sometimes. 

Stephanie sits down next to Brie, then clears her throat. 

"Well, first off.. are you okay?" She asks.   
"I mean, I've been better but.. life moves on I suppose.." Brie replies vaguely.   
"You do know how Maryse pinned you, don't you..?" Steph asks to obviously curious eyes. "She used the ropes as leverage, she cheated to beat you." 

Instantly, Brie starts tearing up again. Maybe some people would take comfort in knowing how people needed to cheat in order to beat them - but this was different to normal circumstances. Unless Bryan miraculously decided he didn't want a second child anymore (something so unlikely, it isn't even worth thinking about), this was going to be Brianna's last match. If Maryse had beaten her fairly, perhaps she could move on from that. But knowing that her last match will not only be a loss, but an unjustified one.. she just feels so cheated.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to upset you.." Stephanie says, noticing the tears in Brie's eyes.  
Brianna does a double take. "Did you just apologise?"   
Steph chuckles. "Yeah.. I've been trying to be a little smilier recently.." she explains. "But that's actually what I wanted to ask you.. me and you obviously have a past and, even though it was years ago, I know it never really settled and.. well, I was wondering if you wanted to get a coffee together or something? A way of clearing the air?" 

Again, Brie does a double take - is this a mind game? Stephanie McMahon is inviting her out for a coffee? The weirdest part is that she seems perfectly genuine; obviously, that makes Brie more inclined to say yes, but given what happened between them, it seems rather odd. But then again, Stephanie complimented her the other week, and that too seemed genuine. Maybe she's actually worth giving a second chance? 

Before Brie has the chance to respond, Bryan walks up to the pair, his fists clenched and overall appears angry. He instinctively grabs Brie's arm and pulls her away from Stephanie, assuming they'd be arguing or something of the like.

"Bryan, calm down, she's being nice to me.." Brie explains.   
"She doesn't have the capability of being nice." Bryan spits. "Besides, how can you tell me to calm down when you just ruined the match for us!" He yells.  
"Hey, leave her alone, Maryse used the ropes, it wasn't Brie's fault." Stephanie says, standing in between the married couple. "Seriously Bryan, it's not okay to yell at her that way."   
"How dare you? Go and fix your own wreck of a marriage before commenting on mine." He says angrily.

For whatever reason, Bryan's comment strikes a chord in Stephanie. She was attempting to reach a hand out to Brie, and she gets attacked about her own husband. Of course, she understands that tensions are high between herself and Bryan, but it still seems like a step too far. Wreck - that's how he described her marriage to Paul. Perhaps it hurt so much because it was partly true..?

"I.. This was a mistake.. I'm sorry Brie, I'll leave you two alone.." she says, clearly a little upset, before swanning off down the hall.

Brie looks sternly towards her husband - she isn't Stephanie's best friend either, but at least she has it in her to be civil. Wether they like it or not, Stephanie's their boss, and insulting her marriage can't exactly do wonders for their career. Besides, even if it is the first time, she was being very kind. Firstly, she offered to clear the air with Brie, then did her best to stop Bryan from yelling at her in a public corridor. Whichever way you look at it, Bryan took things to a level they really didn't need to go. 

"What?" He asks.   
"What do you think?" Brie replies. "I think you really hurt her feelings.."   
"Why do you care? She hurt your feelings when she threatened to fire you, when she paid off someone to claim they had an affair with me!"   
"All things I can't excuse, but they were about 4 years ago.. If you want to be hung up about it, then go ahead, but it's much easier to just let it go, trust me." Brianna lectures before turning around, walking off and beginning to search for Stephanie.

Tell Brie a year ago that she'd be actively looking for Stephanie McMahon, and she would've shaken with the thought. But wether it's sincere or not, Steph is offering a way for everyone to move on, something that's long overdue. If Brie has to take that up alone, then so be it. 

Eventually, she stumbles across the authority figure standing alone, her back against the wall and her eyes looking towards the floor; it seems as though she's deep in thought, but about something not so happy. Maybe it's what Bryan said that's getting to her? After all, it would be understandable, what he said was completely out of line. Although, Brie has never pinned Stephanie down as the emotional or sensitive type. 

"Hey.." Brie says softly.  
"Oh.. Hi Brie.." Steph answers, a little startled.   
"Look, I'm sorry about what Bryan said, it was completely uncalled for.. and for how Nikki talks to you, for that matter.."   
"I get it.. your family has no reason to like me, it's okay."   
"It's not okay though, they're just being mean for the sake of it.. but, if you're still offering, I'd quite like to get that coffee with you?"   
"You're serious..?" Stephanie asks, a glimmer forming in her eyes.  
"Yeah.. give me your phone, I'll put my number in. We can work out a time.."

Brie curiously gazes at Stephanie's smile as she reaches for her cell phone; it was actually fairly rare to see Stephanie smile, unless it was a version of the conniving grin/smirk that she does. But a genuinely happy smile? It was new, but very welcomed to see.

Smiling herself, Brianna takes Steph's phone and begins to type in her number.


	3. Chapter 3

Why didn't she expect this? Why did she even have to tell them? 

Brianna had told her husband and sister about her plans to meet Stephanie the following day; as expected, they were chewing her head off about it. Same old arguments - she was awful to them, embarrassed them etc. Being completely truthful, Brie wasn't entirely sure that she disagreed with them. After all, Stephanie was so cruel to them. But for the first time in forever - Steph has admitted it. What if that's the first step towards a full apology? 

Granted, the idea of Stephanie apologising is unfathomable to most people. Although, Brie thinks it could be possible - while it's only a small thing, Steph did apologise for breaking the news about Maryse's cheating at Hell In A Cell. Perhaps it's a small gesture that would hopefully lead to bigger ones? 

Apart from anything else though, Bryan's still a full time worker - Stephanie McMahon is his boss. If they're on bad terms, it can't be good for him. Yes, they've never been on particularly good terms, but after 2014, everyone sort've stayed out of each other's way. Nikki and Bryan have definitely kept the grudge alive - but if these past few weeks have been anything to go by - Stephanie hasn't.

"So, after all she's done, you're really going to trust her?" Bryan says.   
"Sweetface, I'm going for coffee with her.. what trust do I need? Trust that she won't run off and leave me with a $10 bill?" Brie replies.

It would be disingenuous for Brie to claim she didn't have some of the same reservations. Regardless of the headaches it gives her, Bryan and Nikki have a point. Some of the things Stephanie did were inexcusable. But Brie has a feeling that Stephanie's finally realised that - maybe this realisation has sparked her recent kindness? Wether Nikki and Bryan want to admit it or not, she hasn't been the bitch they perceive her to be as of late. 

"We're not trying to make things awkward Brie, we just don't want her to hurt you.." Nikki explains.  
"I appreciate that, but what is she realistically going to do? It's a coffee shop, not a war zone." She responds.

They're acting like Stephanie's going to pedigree her through the tables, or hire Randy to RKO her out of no where. But the chances of that happening are practically zero. As it seems, Steph has absolutely no reason to be nice to Brie. Therefore, it leads her to believe she must've had a change of heart; No one goes from complete hatred to compliments without a reason. So, wether Brie actually feels somewhat fond of Stephanie, or if it's nothing but morbid curiosity - she's going to find out what that reason is. 

"You're not going. It's that simple." Bryan declares.   
"Excuse me, but I can make my own decisions." Brie stands up for herself.  
Nicole takes a deep sigh. "We can't stop her, Bryan.. it's her mistake to make."   
"Listen, I know that you two don't like Stephanie. But I really think she's making an effort to patch things up with us, and if going for coffee with her helps to build bridges, why shouldn't I go?" She reasons. 

Noticing herself say 'you two', Brie realises that she counted herself out of that statement. Maybe part of her does fully believe Stephanie to be genuine? Thinking about it, she doesn't have much reason not to. Even when you consider all of the horrible things she did to them.. at least she was upfront about it. Throughout 2014, Stephanie never pretended to feel something she didn't. While it wasn't nice to be on the receiving end, everyone knew where they stood. So, if Steph's being sweet, it's most likely sincere.

Of course, Brie isn't saying that they'll become best friends and skip down meadows together. But clearing the air and forgetting the bad blood sounds like some wight off everyone's shoulders. Surely, no bad can come from it. Besides, all of this thinking seems so pointless - as Brianna already said - it's only coffee. 

"Fine, but when she upsets you, don't say I didn't warn you." Bryan states before walking off.

Brianna sighs. The last thing she wanted was to upset her husband; he can get really angry when things don't go his way. Often, Brie just does what he says for an easier life. But, on this occasion, she knows it was right to stand up for herself. After all, being on better terms with the authority will inevitably be a help to him at some point too. Hopefully, this coffee meeting will make things easier on everybody; including Bryan; including Nikki.

"Don't worry about him.. he'll calm down." Nikki says, comforting her sister. "I hope you have a good time with her."  
"You hypocrite!" Brie laughs.   
"Hey, I won't act like I want you to go.. but you're going to go anyway, so I might as well be nice about it." She chuckles along.  
"I wish Bryan had the same mentality.." 

Considering they're planning for a second child, Brie's never felt more distant from Bryan. Everything she does feels like it doesn't align with Bryan's plan, that she isn't doing anything right. To be honest, she can't really remember the last time he showed affection. Yes, they kiss each other, and sleep together.. but none of it feels loving, it's just like they're going through the motions of what a couple should do.

All of this is part of the reason she isn't sold on the idea of another baby. Brie can't help but feel guilty at the thought of bringing a child into a home that isn't on the same page. But again, it's what Bryan wants - so that's what's going to happen. 

Thinking of family, Brie's daughter, Birdie, walks over to the twins; As always, she has a huge smile on her face. Despite all of their marital issues, Brianna will always be grateful to Bryan for bringing Birdie into their lives. No one on this earth was more loved than Birdie - Brie would do anything for that little girl, even if compromised her own happiness.

"Dodo, come play Minnie Mouse.." Birdie says, using her nickname for Nicole.

Nikki takes Birdie's hand and walks over to her small play area; Brie watches on with loving eyes.

While Nikki's playing with Birdie, Brianna thinks about how her coffee date will go tomorrow. Yes, she knows that nothing particularly bad can come of it, but Bryan's put some form of doubt in her mind. She trust Stephanie.. but not quite 100%. She'll just have to see how it goes.. maybe she'll get surprised? 

Brie gave Stephanie a chance for a reason.. let's just hope she won't blow it.


	4. Chapter 4

Walking up to the small cafe they had chosen, Stephanie's chest begins to tighten. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all? No, she has to do this - Brie's family and the McMahon's have been at odds for too long. It's about time they put everything to bed. If their rivalry continued for much longer, it would get to a point where it's completely unfixable, if it isn't already there. Plus, something has recently changed in Stephanie's life, and it's made her realise just how pointless their feud is. With that being said, she isn't fully convinced that Brie will be willing to forgive her.

In hopes they wouldn't get swarmed with paparazzi or fans, they'd chosen a very small place to meet each other. Besides, the conversation they're about to have is probably best kept away from the public. Say what you like about feuds in wrestling, but they draw a crowd, and today's a time where they'd rather not have one.

Stephanie sighs with relief when no one in the cafe seems to recognise her; she's seated at a small table in the corner, decorated with a vase holding a single sunflower. While it's only a tiny little place, with room for barely 20 people, it felt very cozy and welcoming. Stephanie has never been here before, but Brie had mentioned about going a few times before now; she can see why she likes it. 

After checking her phone, she realises that she'd arrived quite early - Brie wasn't going to turn up for about five more minutes. To fill the gap, Steph texts her husband to let him know where she'll be for the next couple of hours. Normally, she'd tell him in person, but he wasn't home when she left, so a text will have to do. 

Some time goes by, and Stephanie looks up from her phone to see a brunette beauty striding through the doors, wearing a white boho dress and some cowboy boots. She chuckles to herself - the outfit was so stereotypically Brianna, she couldn't help but snigger a little.

Steph stands up to greet Brie, but it instantly becomes awkward. Do they hug..? It seems right to hug but they're supposed to be bitter enemies? A handshake is too formal though, and doing nothing at all would be the worst option. So.. what are they supposed to do? 

"Screw this.." Brie giggles, wrapping her arms around Stephanie for a quick hug, in hopes of it breaking the tension.

Thankfully, both women were able to laugh the awkwardness off pretty swiftly. They sit down at opposite ends of the table, and contemplate what to say first. With so much needing to be said, it's difficult knowing where to start; Brie has so much to get off her chest about how the other woman made her feel, and Stephanie has the world to apologise for. After all their history, looking to the future isn't so simple. 

"Nikki and Bryan really didn't want me coming.." Brie says.   
"Can't say I blame them for it.. I'm half surprised that you turned up." Steph replies.   
"Hey, I prefer to leave the past in the past.." 

This was Stephanie's chance - her chance to say sorry for everything that's happened between them. Yes, Brie just said that she prefers to let things go, but apologising must help with that process. Even from a selfish point of view though, Stephanie feels a huge weight of guilt on her shoulders; telling Brie that she's sorry for it might finally help to relieve that. Either way, it can't hurt - it's not like their situation can get much worse. Brie said herself that her family didn't want her to innocently come on a coffee date.. if that doesn't prove the wedge, nothing will.

"About the past.. that's the main reason I wanted to see you.. to apologise for it." Stephanie admits.  
"Apologise for what... exactly..?" Brie teases, a playful smirk plastered across her face.  
"For calling you a bitch all those times..."   
"...and?"   
"Paying Bryan's physiotherapist to claim she had an affair with him.."   
"And?" Brianna laughs.   
"All of the times I slapped you.." Steph laughs too, suddenly realising how petty and ridiculous it all is.

In all seriousness, neither woman had comprehended how dumb their rivalry is until they've said the reasoning out loud. Nikki and Bryan are acting like Stephanie's murdered someone, but in actuality - she just gave Brie a few slaps. Besides, Brie got her own back with the slap thing by getting Stephanie arrested at one point, just another ridiculous feature of their pointless hatred.

Plus, the fact that they're able to laugh about what happened now just proves how little bad blood their actually is, if any. If you genuinely hated someone, you wouldn't be able to talk about why without getting angry, or at least passionate. But Steph and Brie.. they're just laughing? Just like normal friends would. 

"I didn't expect you to be so forgiving.." Stephanie says.  
"I didn't expect you to be so apologetic.." Brie responds. "Listen, I think we've established that the past is behind us.. but one question I do have - why now? Why say sorry after nearly 5 years?"  
Steph takes a deep breath. "Honestly..? My daughters." She admits. "I feel like we're growing more distant everyday and.. well, I don't want to add to that by being a bad role model for them."

Brie's face scrunches up. Obviously, it's easy to understand why some people would find Stephanie a bad role model. But her own daughters? They get to see their mother being the chief brand officer of a successful, global empire every single day - surely, that's an empowering thing to see? Although, it is sad to hear that Stephanie feels like she's drifting away from them. As much as parenting Birdie can be stressful at times, Brianna knows that she'll miss these times when she's eventually a teenager like Steph's kids. 

"How's Paul with them? A good dad?" Brie enquires.   
"Yeah... yeah, I mean, he's at home alot more than I am.. I don't think they like me working so much.."   
"Bryan doesn't like me working so much either.. he wants more children, but I get overwhelmed with just one at times.." she reveals.

Strangely enough, the pair were finding more common ground than they thought. Brie assumed that there'd be an apology, and not much else after. But the apology is over and done with, and they're sat here talking about some really deep topics. Brie hasn't even had the courage to tell Bryan about her reservations of having a second baby yet, but she's told Stephanie almost straight away. Also, not many other people know about Steph feeling distant from her daughters. They're different situations, but fairly similar when you look closely; at the very least, they felt comfortable enough to tell one another. 

"You know what? I know what we need - Cake. A solver of all problems. I'll go and buy us both a slice.."Brie says before walking over to the counter. 

Stephanie chuckles as she leaves her eyes on Brianna - doing all she can to potentially work her out.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember when I said how, in this story, Stephanie only has two daughters as opposed to three? Yeah, this chapter shows that so just a reminder! In this world, she has Murphy and Aurora, but Vaughn is just.. not there? Sorry Vaughn? Anyways, please enjoy the chapter!

Quite pleased with herself, Stephanie walks into her house, wearing a huge grin. Her lunch date with Brie couldn't have gone any better; the air was cleared and they have a genuine shot at being good friends. After all of their history, Steph was unsure if they'd ever be anything besides enemies. Although, with the way they connected.. maybe being friends is actually quite likely? 

After all, they bonded on some fairly deep topics - they could easily relate to each other when it came to their families, and they obviously shared a love for WWE. Above everything else though, the pair had come to realise just how stupid all their fighting was. When it came down to it, they'd kept a pointless feud going for eight years for literally no reason. 

Overall, Stephanie was glad to have a budding friendship. With her job taking up all of her days, she didn't really have the time for friends; her children were now teenagers, and were more interested in their social circle than their family; as for her husband.. well, Steph was lucky if they ever spent time together outside of an authority storyline. 

Stepping through the front door, Stephanie can simply tell that Paul isn't there - it's too quiet, as always. She honestly can't remember the last time when she came home and Paul was there. Granted, he has work too, so she would be understanding - but she knows that he has a night off tonight, so why isn't he with her? 

"Murphy..? Aurora?" Stephanie calls to her daughters, taking off her jacket.

No answer. 

In a way, Stephanie has become accustomed to getting no answer. Her daughters are 14 and 13, with Aurora being the eldest of the two. Despite only being young, they're definitely the type to believe that they're fully capable adults. To a degree, Stephanie blames that on herself; she's always travelling for work, so they do have to be more independent than most kids their age. But that's just it, they are still kids, regardless on maturity.

"Hello?" She calls out again. 

While she doesn't get a real answer, Stephanie does hear some music playing from upstairs becoming louder - judging by the choice of Ariana Grande - it's probably Murphy attempting to drown out her mother's calling.

Wanting to see her daughters after being out, Stephanie walks up the stairs and heads to Murphy's bedroom. As predicted, she's lying on her bed, head stuck in her phone. Apart from the music playing much louder than normal, this is a sight which is by no means unusual - Murphy seems more concerned with Instagram pictures than.. well, most other things. Although, to her credit, she's a very smart girl. 

"Don't you knock?" Murphy says, obviously annoyed.   
"Excuse me, I own the house.." Steph chuckles. "Where's your dad?"  
"How should I know? He's never here."   
"Okay Murphy, less of the attitude please." She says authoritatively. "What about your sister?"   
"Out."   
"Out? Out where?"   
"I don't know! A friend's house probably, can you just leave me alone?" Murphy arrupts.

Stephanie takes a deep breath. Normally, she'd tell her daughter to have some more respect, or to control her temper; however, it's a battle she's fought several times in the past, and has thus far lost. To be honest though, she would like a little more conversation, considering she's the only other person in the house with her. Now, she has to just sit and wait for Paul or Aurora to come home, and hope that one of them would be up for a chat.

Deciding to let it settle this time, the authority figure turns around and heads back downstairs. Pulling out her phone, she texts Aurora to find out where she actually is. Murphy was probably right - she'd be at a friend's house - but it's a mother's job to double check. With that being said, Stephanie isn't entirely sure she does much mothering nowadays. It's the same old routine everyday; work several hours, come home, be ignored, cook dinner, go to bed and repeat. While it sounds so simple, it's extremely exhausting at times. 

Wanting to keep herself busy to pass the alone time, she heads to the oven and begins to cook some food - some form of pasta dish can never go wrong in her house. As she's cooking, her phone goes off with a text notification from Aurora. 

"Won't be home for dinner. Sleeping over at Zoe's house."

Stephanie has to admit, the abruptness stings slightly. Of course, she's happy that her daughters are so popular, and that they have so many friends who they love spending time with. Although, part of her is mildly jealous - she wants them to enjoy spending time with her just as much. Apparently, this is just typical of teenagers, but Stephanie really misses the days when she could chat for hours with her girls. Now, there isn't really anyone in her life who she has that type of relationship with. 

As Stephanie divides the finished meal into three portions, she hears footsteps coming down the stairs - Murphy. Thankfully, Stephanie's managed to uphold a 'no phones at the table' rule, so even though Paul isn't home yet, she might actually get a few words out of Murphy. 

"Perfect timing! Come on, I made some pasta.." Stephanie invites. "Why are you wearing your coat..?" Her face drops.  
"Oh.. yeah, I forgot to mention, Rachel invited me out, I'm getting dinner with her.." Murphy says. "I'm gonna stay the night too."  
"Well.. no, Murphy, you should've asked me first. I've cooked now, you'll have to tell her no."  
"What? No! You're really gonna keep me cooped up in here with nobody to talk to?" She shouts.   
"Don't speak to me that way.. besides, I'm here."   
"Exactly.. nobody." Murphy fires.

Feeling incredibly hurt, Stephanie does a double take as she sits down. Murphy has always back-chated, but this comment cut really deep. Holding back tears, she gestures her hand towards the door, giving her daughter permission to go out with her friend. Once she's alone, Steph allows herself to weep ever so slightly.

Even though she's a wealthy woman, with the most amazing job and so much success.. Murphy seems to have found the one thing which Stephanie's always felt - like a nobody. And hearing it from her own daughter's mouth..? That's something she won't get over too soon.

In attempts to carry on as normal, Steph places her meal on the dining table and sits down, alone. She eats very slowly; obviously, she knows that her body needs food, but nothing seems appetising really. On top of that, she has no one to chat with in order to pass the time. Part of her wishes Brie was there - this afternoon was the first time in ages that Stephanie spoke to someone properly. Steph wasn't even the most chatty person out there, she simply has so much whizzing around her mind that no one is willing to listen to. 

After eventually finishing her plate, the lone woman places the other two portions in the fridge, and begins to wash her own plate. Looking out of the kitchen window, she notices how dark it's become. Then, she checks the clock - more time had passed than she thought - it's somehow ten o clock already. Being fairly well off when it comes to money, the family have quite a big house; it feels too big sometimes.. or at least, too big to be alone in for this amount of time. 

Snapping her back to reality, she hears the door open - Paul's home. Stephanie walks over to greet him; since both of their daughters were spending the night with friend's, maybe they could actually have some alone time themselves? 

As he walks in, Paul doesn't even look up at his wife; instead, he walks straight past her and heads for the fridge. Stephanie took notice of how he looked, specifically his white shirt which has several buttons in the wrong holes. Paul opens the fridge door and retrieves his dinner, he's come to realise that Stephanie will always cook for him, wether he's there or not. 

Ignoring his shirt and lack of acknowledgement towards her, Stephanie does her best to look sexy as she sits on his lap - she wants a little attention. 

"What are you doing?" He asks.   
"Aurora and Murphy are both out tonight.. we have the house to ourselves.." Steph whispers, a seductive smirk across her face.   
"Alright Steph, I'm about to eat, not now.." he says, almost pushing her off his lap.

The feeling of hurt returning, Steph watches on as Paul takes more care in eating his meal than he does in handling her. Their marriage has lasted years, and everyone always asks what the secret is.. they've never been able to answer really, perhaps it's because there isn't one? Maybe they're just plodding along, rather than actually having a successful love story? 

"I.. I'm sleepy. I think I'll go to bed.. good night, honey.." she says, leaning in to kiss him.

As she pecks his cheek, Stephanie notices a sweet smell along his shirt collar. Normally, she would assume it's his cologne or something along those lines.. but this smell is particularly.. feminine? 

Not wanting to think too deeply into it, for the fear of driving herself insane, Stephanie heads upstairs - once again - alone.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember when I said how, in this story, Stephanie only has two daughters as opposed to three? Yeah, this chapter shows that so just a reminder! In this world, she has Murphy and Aurora, but Vaughn is just.. not there? Sorry Vaughn? Anyways, please enjoy the chapter!

Quite pleased with herself, Stephanie walks into her house, wearing a huge grin. Her lunch date with Brie couldn't have gone any better; the air was cleared and they have a genuine shot at being good friends. After all of their history, Steph was unsure if they'd ever be anything besides enemies. Although, with the way they connected.. maybe being friends is actually quite likely? 

After all, they bonded on some fairly deep topics - they could easily relate to each other when it came to their families, and they obviously shared a love for WWE. Above everything else though, the pair had come to realise just how stupid all their fighting was. When it came down to it, they'd kept a pointless feud going for eight years for literally no reason. 

Overall, Stephanie was glad to have a budding friendship. With her job taking up all of her days, she didn't really have the time for friends; her children were now teenagers, and were more interested in their social circle than their family; as for her husband.. well, Steph was lucky if they ever spent time together outside of an authority storyline. 

Stepping through the front door, Stephanie can simply tell that Paul isn't there - it's too quiet, as always. She honestly can't remember the last time when she came home and Paul was there. Granted, he has work too, so she would be understanding - but she knows that he has a night off tonight, so why isn't he with her? 

"Murphy..? Aurora?" Stephanie calls to her daughters, taking off her jacket.

No answer. 

In a way, Stephanie has become accustomed to getting no answer. Her daughters are 14 and 13, with Aurora being the eldest of the two. Despite only being young, they're definitely the type to believe that they're fully capable adults. To a degree, Stephanie blames that on herself; she's always travelling for work, so they do have to be more independent than most kids their age. But that's just it, they are still kids, regardless on maturity.

"Hello?" She calls out again. 

While she doesn't get a real answer, Stephanie does hear some music playing from upstairs becoming louder - judging by the choice of Ariana Grande - it's probably Murphy attempting to drown out her mother's calling.

Wanting to see her daughters after being out, Stephanie walks up the stairs and heads to Murphy's bedroom. As predicted, she's lying on her bed, head stuck in her phone. Apart from the music playing much louder than normal, this is a sight which is by no means unusual - Murphy seems more concerned with Instagram pictures than.. well, most other things. Although, to her credit, she's a very smart girl. 

"Don't you knock?" Murphy says, obviously annoyed.   
"Excuse me, I own the house.." Steph chuckles. "Where's your dad?"  
"How should I know? He's never here."   
"Okay Murphy, less of the attitude please." She says authoritatively. "What about your sister?"   
"Out."   
"Out? Out where?"   
"I don't know! A friend's house probably, can you just leave me alone?" Murphy arrupts.

Stephanie takes a deep breath. Normally, she'd tell her daughter to have some more respect, or to control her temper; however, it's a battle she's fought several times in the past, and has thus far lost. To be honest though, she would like a little more conversation, considering she's the only other person in the house with her. Now, she has to just sit and wait for Paul or Aurora to come home, and hope that one of them would be up for a chat.

Deciding to let it settle this time, the authority figure turns around and heads back downstairs. Pulling out her phone, she texts Aurora to find out where she actually is. Murphy was probably right - she'd be at a friend's house - but it's a mother's job to double check. With that being said, Stephanie isn't entirely sure she does much mothering nowadays. It's the same old routine everyday; work several hours, come home, be ignored, cook dinner, go to bed and repeat. While it sounds so simple, it's extremely exhausting at times. 

Wanting to keep herself busy to pass the alone time, she heads to the oven and begins to cook some food - some form of pasta dish can never go wrong in her house. As she's cooking, her phone goes off with a text notification from Aurora. 

"Won't be home for dinner. Sleeping over at Zoe's house."

Stephanie has to admit, the abruptness stings slightly. Of course, she's happy that her daughters are so popular, and that they have so many friends who they love spending time with. Although, part of her is mildly jealous - she wants them to enjoy spending time with her just as much. Apparently, this is just typical of teenagers, but Stephanie really misses the days when she could chat for hours with her girls. Now, there isn't really anyone in her life who she has that type of relationship with. 

As Stephanie divides the finished meal into three portions, she hears footsteps coming down the stairs - Murphy. Thankfully, Stephanie's managed to uphold a 'no phones at the table' rule, so even though Paul isn't home yet, she might actually get a few words out of Murphy. 

"Perfect timing! Come on, I made some pasta.." Stephanie invites. "Why are you wearing your coat..?" Her face drops.  
"Oh.. yeah, I forgot to mention, Rachel invited me out, I'm getting dinner with her.." Murphy says. "I'm gonna stay the night too."  
"Well.. no, Murphy, you should've asked me first. I've cooked now, you'll have to tell her no."  
"What? No! You're really gonna keep me cooped up in here with nobody to talk to?" She shouts.   
"Don't speak to me that way.. besides, I'm here."   
"Exactly.. nobody." Murphy fires.

Feeling incredibly hurt, Stephanie does a double take as she sits down. Murphy has always back-chated, but this comment cut really deep. Holding back tears, she gestures her hand towards the door, giving her daughter permission to go out with her friend. Once she's alone, Steph allows herself to weep ever so slightly.

Even though she's a wealthy woman, with the most amazing job and so much success.. Murphy seems to have found the one thing which Stephanie's always felt - like a nobody. And hearing it from her own daughter's mouth..? That's something she won't get over too soon.

In attempts to carry on as normal, Steph places her meal on the dining table and sits down, alone. She eats very slowly; obviously, she knows that her body needs food, but nothing seems appetising really. On top of that, she has no one to chat with in order to pass the time. Part of her wishes Brie was there - this afternoon was the first time in ages that Stephanie spoke to someone properly. Steph wasn't even the most chatty person out there, she simply has so much whizzing around her mind that no one is willing to listen to. 

After eventually finishing her plate, the lone woman places the other two portions in the fridge, and begins to wash her own plate. Looking out of the kitchen window, she notices how dark it's become. Then, she checks the clock - more time had passed than she thought - it's somehow ten o clock already. Being fairly well off when it comes to money, the family have quite a big house; it feels too big sometimes.. or at least, too big to be alone in for this amount of time. 

Snapping her back to reality, she hears the door open - Paul's home. Stephanie walks over to greet him; since both of their daughters were spending the night with friend's, maybe they could actually have some alone time themselves? 

As he walks in, Paul doesn't even look up at his wife; instead, he walks straight past her and heads for the fridge. Stephanie took notice of how he looked, specifically his white shirt which has several buttons in the wrong holes. Paul opens the fridge door and retrieves his dinner, he's come to realise that Stephanie will always cook for him, wether he's there or not. 

Ignoring his shirt and lack of acknowledgement towards her, Stephanie does her best to look sexy as she sits on his lap - she wants a little attention. 

"What are you doing?" He asks.   
"Aurora and Murphy are both out tonight.. we have the house to ourselves.." Steph whispers, a seductive smirk across her face.   
"Alright Steph, I'm about to eat, not now.." he says, almost pushing her off his lap.

The feeling of hurt returning, Steph watches on as Paul takes more care in eating his meal than he does in handling her. Their marriage has lasted years, and everyone always asks what the secret is.. they've never been able to answer really, perhaps it's because there isn't one? Maybe they're just plodding along, rather than actually having a successful love story? 

"I.. I'm sleepy. I think I'll go to bed.. good night, honey.." she says, leaning in to kiss him.

As she pecks his cheek, Stephanie notices a sweet smell along his shirt collar. Normally, she would assume it's his cologne or something along those lines.. but this smell is particularly.. feminine? 

Not wanting to think too deeply into it, for the fear of driving herself insane, Stephanie heads upstairs - once again - alone.


	7. Chapter 7

Slowly, Stephanie's eyes open to a half empty bed; Paul wasn't there. Considering he rejected her last night, she was hoping to cuddle up with him this morning. After all, she's barely seen him whatsoever this past week - he's either at work or wherever it is he mysteriously swans off to sometimes. She can't remember the last time they had a real cuddle, or even a nice hug..

Her eyes drift upwards - there he was. Paul was buttoning up his shirt, getting ready for the day. Today was Sunday; Stephanie has her day off, and so should her husband. What was he getting ready for? 

Moving her pillow, she props herself upwards and looks towards her husband. Finally, he notices she's awake and flashes a quick smile at her, soon turning back around to focus on getting dressed. Quite depressingly, that smile was the only form of happiness he's shown towards Steph in a while. Something was clearly going on with him.. but what is it?

"I didn't know you had work today.." she says sleepily.   
"I'm only going in for a few hours.. I've got to get some paperwork finished.."  
"Well, since you'll be home for dinner.. why don't we go out to a restaurant? It's been ages since we've done that - we can even take the girls." Stephanie suggests.   
"You really think Murphy and Aurora want to go out with us?" He chuckles. 

Although he said it with a giggle, Paul was most likely right, and it hurt Stephanie more than she was willing to admit. When she was younger, like many women do, Steph had this idea in her mind of having the perfect family; obviously, she adores her children and loves them more than anything. But there are times when she questions how much of that love is reciprocated, and that wasn't part of her family dream. 

On top of that, Stephanie still wasn't fully over what Murphy had said to her - that she was a nobody. Deep down, Steph knows that Murphy's just a teenager, and teenagers say things they don't mean; plus, her anger was probably caused by the fact Stephanie wouldn't let her go out. Maybe if she'd just allowed her straight away, her daughter wouldn't have said it? Chances are, Murphy wasn't intending for it to come across as hurtful as it did, anyway.. 

"Well.. how about we go then? Just me and you? We haven't been on a date for.. Lord knows how long."  
"I'll be tired from work, Steph.." Paul dismisses.

Stephanie flops back down onto the mattress, lifting the duvet over her shoulder. Being rejected, labelled a nobody.. it's all just led her to feel really sensitive. A night out would honestly do her some good; going out with Brie yesterday sort've confirmed how lonely she's been feeling. With so much on her mind, it was nice to have someone to talk to.. as great as Brianna is, Stephanie has a husband. She'd rather spend time with him, and talk through her problems with him. But at the moment, Brie seems like the only person willing to listen. 

Paul sits on the edge of the bed, next to his wife. "If you're so hell bent on going out tonight, why don't you ask your new best friend, Brie Bella?" He says, almost mocking Brie's name.  
"Why'd you say it like that..?"   
"Because you seem more excited to spend time with her than me." He spits. "I thought you were better than someone like her."   
"Someone like her? Paul, she's actually a very sweet woman.." Steph defends.

Conversations like these just make Stephanie miss Brie's company. They spent about two hours together, and Steph felt more comfortable talking to her than she does with Paul - the man she's been married to for over ten years. After the past she's shared with Brianna, Steph wasn't sure that she'd even get a coffee/lunch date out of her, let alone a new friend. But with her husband? She mentions going out for dinner, and gets completely rejected and mocked. 

Besides, Paul was hardly ever at home nowadays; even if he did understand how Stephanie felt, he'd never be around to hear it. Wherever he was going to, it can't always be work - not every single time. Although, asking him about it would probably start an argument which she really doesn't have the energy to deal with. Besides, she's just woken up, maybe the rest of the day would sway in her favour? 

"I'll tell you what, I'll take you out for dinner tonight if you promise to stop seeing Brie.." Paul bargains. "It's your choice, but Brie really isn't good for you.. she distracts you from being a mother, and from being my wife." 

Mildly confused, Stephanie ponders her options. She'll never really understand Paul's dismissal of Brianna - he's barely spent any time with her. But this was her chance, Paul was offering a chance for them to connect as a couple, and that's something she can't refuse. After all, half of Steph's problems are caused by the state of her marriage; if there's a chance to fix it, she'll have to make the sacrifice.

"Okay.. Okay, deal." She agrees. "I'm going to get some breakfast.." 

Still sleepy, Stephanie stands up and kisses her husband's cheek before heading downstairs in her pyjamas. Unable to stop thinking about what she's agreed to, Steph's typically clumsy behaviour increases, dropping almost everything required to make some toast at least once.

Did she really promise to never meet up with Brie again..? As mentioned, they've only spent two real hours together, two hours where they could talk through everything and leave the past where it belongs. But a real friendship had sprung from it, and Stephanie didn't want to let that go. There's no point dwelling on it - what's done is done, she's agreed to now. But that doesn't mean she can't be sad about it.

As she's waiting for the toaster to click, there's a sound of the front door opening; two girls, linked in arms, walked in while giggling. Stephanie smiles at the sight of her two daughters. Granted, Murphy had really upset her last night, but she's still the apple of her eyes - along with Aurora of course. 

"Hi.. I'm making some toast if you two want some?" Stephanie beams. "Did you have fun at your sleepovers?"

Aurora looks up from her phone and gives her mother a dismissive look; she looks towards her younger sister then scoffs, so does Murphy. Steph wonders what she could've possibly done wrong this time? All she did was offer breakfast and ask a question - surely she can't have screwed up from that? It feels like, no matter what she does, she's branded a mother not worthy of two beautiful girls.

"I'm sorry Murphy? Did you hear someone speak just then?" Aurora chuckles.   
"No, I didn't, you must be hearing things.." Murphy laughs back. 

Highly confused, Stephanie stares at her daughters with questionable eyes. The toaster pings, startling her slightly.

"You see, I just heard the toaster go off, but that's it.." Murphy continues.   
"Umm girls?" Stephanie murmurs.   
"There it is again! I can definitely hear talking but nobody's there.." Aurora continues. 

Stephanie's stomach begins to wrench - are they really pretending she just isn't there? She's had some backchat over the years - it's to be expected from teenagers who think they run the earth - but she was their mother. Disrespect is one thing, but this was a whole new level, and Steph didn't know how to deal with it: odd comments, she can cope with, but this was too much. 

"Please don't act like I'm not here, I'm your mother!" Stephanie says, attempting to sound firm.  
"You're right Aurora.. nobody is there." Murphy shoots, staring her mom directly in the eyes. 

The twist in Steph's tummy becomes worse. Once again, Murphy exploits her weakness - why are they laughing? How is this funny? Both girls giggle as they disappear upstairs. Stephanie can't help but tear up again; what on earth has possessed her daughters to treat her so viciously? 

Quickly, Steph wipes the tears away - she doesn't want Paul to make fun of her when he comes downstairs. Instead, she begins to butter her toast, unable to stop thinking about what her girls had said.


	8. Chapter 8

Curled up in a living chair, Nikki sitting on the couch opposite, Brie finishes her text to Stephanie. 

"We'll just have to wait until they grow up! But then again, they're men, we might be waiting a while aha xx"

There. Simple enough she supposes. They'd been talking about how to keep in contact without physically seeing one another; as it turns out, Paul isn't a fan of Stephanie seeing Brie, just as much as Bryan is. To be truthful, they can't really work out why their husbands are against it. A while ago, maybe they could understand it - but now? They've seen how happy being friends has made them, so why haven't they changed their tune? 

Regardless on misunderstanding, they both want to respect their husbands wishes - they're busy enough as it is, chances are, they wouldn't get to see each other in the flesh that often anyway. So, if they can't meet up in person, texting is the next best thing. Again, with their hectic schedules, they'd probably end up communicating via Iphones most of the time, despite how their husband's feel. 

Although, Brie would be lying if she claimed to not be disappointed. Stephanie seemed to understand her; there aren't many people in her life she can say that about. At times, even Bryan and Nikki seem to perceive her differently than what's accurate. With that being said, the friends would've preferred to keep having coffee dates every so often, meeting up for lunch and all the stereotypical friend things. But if they have to keep everything on a phone, at least it's better than nothing. 

Brie eagerly looks at her phone when a new text notification pops up.

"If you ever feel like a rebel, I'm always at Raw every week. You're obviously welcome to come visit any time. But if you ever need a chat about anything, just call me xx"

The young woman smiles at the message - Steph really was sweet to her, a definite change in tone to what she would've expected a few months ago. However, it is mildly annoying how visiting her would be considered 'rebellious' - what would they be doing wrong? She sighs, then looks up at Nikki, she was staying with Brie while Artem and Bryan were out, filming a scene for Total Bellas. For some reason, there was a curious grin plastered across her face. 

"Has Bryan sent you a naked picture or something?" Nikki giggles.   
"What the hell?" Brie chuckles.  
"I'm just saying, your face lights up when that phone goes off - it must be something pretty special" she winks.  
"Shut up, it's only Stephanie.."

Rolling her eyes, Brianna looks back at her phone, while Nikki's facial expression turns to genuine concern. Nicole isn't quite as adamant as Bryan; she won't tell Brie not to be friends with Steph, but she still wants her not to. Besides, telling Brie to stay away will probably push them closer together.

It's up for debate wether Bryan's hatred of Stephanie comes from a place of pride or concern, but at least Brie knows that Nikki's reservations come from a real place - she wouldn't just hate someone for the sake of it. Granted, with the way Nicole speaks to Stephanie, you'd be forgiven for thinking otherwise. But Brianna knows her sister, and knows that she has her best interests at heart. 

"I won't pretend like I'm not relieved you aren't seeing her again.." Nikki says quietly.   
"We're still friends Nicole, just not seeing each other in person." Brianna explains. "Besides, I really don't understand why you can't comprehend Stephanie being a nice person.."   
"Because she's done so many not-nice things before." She points out. "Look, I hardly know the woman. It's not for me to decide if she's changed or not.. Just be careful, okay..? I don't want you getting hurt if her intentions aren't genuine."

Brie smiles weakly. Despite how much she wishes Nikki would accept Stephanie's kindness, she can't force it. Although, her stance has changed from 'completely hates' to 'doesn't fully trust' - maybe they're getting somewhere? Even if her family never truly comes to terms with it, Brie's found a true friend, and Stephanie's definitely a permanent fixture in her life now. 

"Forgetting that, you look great today." Nicole smiles.   
"Thank you.. so do you." Brie replies.   
"Seriously though, your skin is literally glowing.. are you using some new face mask or..?"   
"No, same as normal.. glad I look good though, because I really don't feel too great. I think I've eaten something weird." She answers. 

Over the last few days, Brie's been feeling.. she isn't sure on the word. Off? Yes, she feels off. It's hard to put her finger on it - she doesn't feel sick or anything, just different to normal. But it is nice to receive the compliment - on top of being off, Brie hasn't felt that pretty recently. After all, Bryan won't pay her attention unless it's for making Birdie a sibling, and hardly anyone else sincerely compliments her.

Thinking of Bryan, both him and Artem walk through the front door, both of them smiling. Immediately, Artem walks over to his fiancé, kissing her cheek sweetly. Brie watched on with envious eyes - she couldn't be happier for Nikki, having someone who clearly adores her that much - but Brie wants that herself. To be honest.. she's jealous; That's exactly what she wants. 

Obviously, she doesn't want Artem, but she'd like for Bryan to be as affectionate as him. As expected, Bryan simply walks past her and heads to see Birdie. Granted, she can't fault him for being more concerned with their daughter, but would it kill him to kiss her on the way? She misses feeling close to someone. Yes, they're still having sex.. but it isn't loving. So maybe that's a better way to put it - she misses being loved. 

"Sweetface..?" She calls out to her husband.  
"One minute.." he responds from Birdie's room, clearly without any intent to come back in.

Both Artem and Nikki head back to their home next door, holding hands as they walk. Again, Brie watches them while daydreaming of having that connection with another person.

Right now, there's only one person who Brianna feels even somewhat connected to, besides Birdie of course.. and it simply isn't Bryan.


	9. Chapter 9

Slowly walking into her home, Brie dumps all of her shopping bags on the floor; she'd just done a day out for groceries, and she was by herself since Bryan had to stay and watch Birdie. Although, they needed a lot of groceries, so Brie was left to carry quite a lot, and she's very exhausted. Besides, she's still been feeling quite peaky these past few days. 

Running out from her bedroom, Birdie throws her arm's around Brianna's legs, clutching onto her. Bryan follows his daughter, giving a half smile towards his wife. After hugging Birdie back, Brie begins to put the shopping away, looking at Bryan with encouraging eyes - hoping that he would offer to help her. After all, she just wanted to go to bed and have a nap to be fully honest. 

"I'll help you mommy!" Birdie exclaims, picking up a single banana and placing it into their fruit bowl.   
"Thank you, sweet girl.." Brie smiles before going slightly dizzy, resting her hand on the kitchen counter to steady herself.  
"Are you okay mommy?"   
"Yeah.. yeah, Birdie, Mommy just went dizzy.. hey, will you please ask daddy to come and help me put this away?" 

With a huge smile, Birdie walks over to her dad and grabs his hand, pulling him towards the kitchen. 

Brie could tell by his face that Bryan wasn't happy about being roped into helping, but all she wanted was to go and rest. For whatever reason, she just wasn't herself - having frequent dizzy spells, generally feeling quite nauseous.. whatever it was, she hoped it would go away soon, it's not like her to get sick. 

Despite his reluctance, Bryan thankfully begins to put their groceries away with minimal help from little Birdie. Brie strides into their bedroom and crashes onto her side of the bed; Her eyes close and she loses herself into the world of imagination. She can't decide if this recent sickness was brought on by herself - after all, she's been worrying non stop about retiring, her marriage, potentially having a second baby - maybe the stress is taking a toll on her body?

Regardless on how it happened, this stupid wave of nausea means that Brie's completely shattered. A good rest will do her the world of good. 

Surprising the young woman, Brie's phone starts ringing. Fuck. Clearly, the universe isn't on her side when it comes to getting some sleep. Although, she must admit, her face lights up when she sees the caller ID.

"Stephanie!" Brie says, a glow arising to her cheeks.   
"Hi Brie.. I um.. I just hoped for some advice, mother to mother..?" Stephanie replies, obviously seeming teary. 

Before they recently connected, Brianna never had Steph pinned down as the emotional type; she was so professional at work that you almost forget she had a life outside of it. But now they're friends, Brie knows just how emotional she can be - all in a positive way, of course. The ability to wear her heart on her sleeve is one Brie admired, considering she sometimes struggles to communicate her own emotions at times. 

"Hey.. hey, what's wrong, are you okay?" Brianna asks, genuinely concerned.  
"I don't know.. it's just Murphy and Aurora.. I love them with all my heart, but they don't love me back and I just don't know what to do.." Stephanie answers, beginning to well up.

The younger woman's heart breaks; her and Stephanie have spoken before about Murphy and Aurora. From what Brie can gather, they're just teenagers going through a rebellious phase, but she can also see why Steph would feel so hurt by everything. Besides being emotional, Brie had also come to know Stephanie as quite sensitive - obviously, that's not a bad thing - but it makes Brie feel quite protective. Of course, she doesn't want to see Stephanie upset, so she intends to do all she can to make her smile again. 

"Steph.. your girls are teenagers, teens say cruel things sometimes... me and my mom were always fighting, but I always loved her."  
"This is different, Brie.. we aren't fighting, it's not disagreements.. they just look at me, and treat me like I'm worthless.. God knows I feel it.." Stephanie cries.

Her chest was beginning to tighten; Steph had been feeling this way for a while, but no one seemed to understand. It's the same answer every time - teens will be teens. No one takes the time to truly acknowledge how it's affecting her mental state; with every comment, every dismissive look, it feels like a chip of her confident persona breaks away. 

Although Brie's response was similar to most people's, Stephanie needs her to understand. At this point, she's pretty much having breakdowns over it.. she's afraid of how bad things may get if she doesn't soon find a shoulder to cry on. And in all honesty, if she could pick anyone to be her shoulder right now, she'd choose Brie; besides being a mother too, she's also one of the kindest people Steph's ever met.. and kindness is something she's desperately been missing.

"Does Paul know you feel this way..?" Brie asks, becoming alert to the importance of the situation.  
"No.. no, I'd rather he didn't.. he probably thinks I'm a bad enough mother as it is.." she replies gloomily. 

Instantly, Brie thinks of her own marriage. Granted, she doesn't believe Bryan sees her as a bad mother.. but sometimes, she doesn't feel like a good enough wife. After all, she's reluctant to have a baby with him, despite being married for all these years - she's supposed to love him more than this. Hearing a similar issue coming from another person's mouth makes Brianna realise quite how unhealthy it is..

"I can promise you Stephanie that you're a great mom.. and you definitely aren't worthless either.." Brie says warmly.

Stephanie sighs. All she's wanted over the past few months was for someone she cared about to tell her that. Obviously, she still needs to work on believing it - but having someone actually say it was more than welcomed. 

"Stephanie.. do you need help? Like, professional help? Because, if you do, there's no shame in-"  
"No.. no, I don't need help." She quickly dismisses. "I don't know what's so wrong with me.. I feel like I'm being pulled in about five different directions, and none of them are where I want to be.."   
"Like everyone's expecting you to be a different version of someone you aren't?" 

That's it. That's exactly it.

Stephanie takes a deep breath, almost in relief - finally, someone understands what she's been trying to communicate over the past few months. For Paul, she's expected to be this glamorous and sexy wife; for her children, she's expected to be a strong, perfect mother who doubles as a verbal punching bag; for her job, she's demanded to be a bitchy, authoritative heel who boarders on emotionless. But who Stephanie McMahon really is? She hasn't quite worked it out yet. But whoever she is, she doesn't feel up to any of those 'perfect' expectations. 

Of course, this is something Brie relates to. When she looks at Bryan, all she can think of is her reservations of being a mother again. So again, they're just finding more layers to each other which they can bond over - even if the topic is admittedly gloomy.

"It's ironic.." Stephanie half chuckles. "All these years hating each other, and you're the only person who gets me.."   
"I could say the same.." Brianna agrees. "But I do think you should try talking to Paul.. of course, I'm always going to be there for you, but it'd be good if you had more direct support with your girls.."   
"I know you're right.. I'm just not sure he'd understand it."  
"Well, Bryan thinks I'm taking a nap, so he won't be bothering me any time soon.. Come on. Offload onto me" Brie says smiling. 

Smiling herself, Stephanie's blue eyes begin sparkling. She wipes away the tears on her cheeks and sits comfortably on her bed, happy that she she's actually being listened to. And yes, Brie's tone was light, but Steph genuinely felt like she could offload onto her. Normally, she just doesn't want to bother anybody with her own problems.. but Brianna seems to sincerely care, and that's new for Stephanie. However, it's also very appreciated. 

"Well.. there are times when I feel.." Stephanie begins, with Brie on the other end of the phone, listening intently and sweetly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to comment etc :)


	10. Chapter 10

Besides making her feel ten times better, Brie also convinced Stephanie to give talking to Paul a go. Even though talking with Brianna lifted so much weight off her shoulders, she made a good point about having more support with Murphy and Aurora. A sweet conversation, as uplifting as it may be, can only last so long - having some comfort from her husband would help her get through everyday life a little better.

With that being said, there are still butterflies in Stephanie's tummy about admitting how she's been feeling. After all, this is a big deal for her - with a confident TV persona, people sometimes forget that she's a really sensitive soul deep down. Especially Paul.. he's her husband, and even he forgets that. To be truthful, that's probably why she's so nervous.

But if talking to Brie has assured her of anything, it's that she's worth a little support. For too long, Stephanie's had this feeling that asking for help was a sign of weakness; she grew up a strong, powerful woman, but in a man's world - she had to work things out for herself, relying on other people was out of the question. Even now, it's something she carries with her, so having Brie tell her that it's okay to need help sometimes was really appreciated. 

Stephanie walks upstairs, presuming that Paul would be in his home office; he seems to spend forever in there nowadays. Although, it's not as though Steph's in any place to comment on spending too much time working. Half the time, she blames her self-created workload for being the wedge between herself and her daughters.

As she walks through the corridor, something catches her attention - Steph was sure that she heard Murphy sniffle, almost like she was crying. Instinctively, she rushes to Murphy's bedroom door with every intention of comforting her daughter.

"Hey, don't get upset.. you've still got me.." She hears a male voice say from behind the door, recognisingly Paul. 

Even though Stephanie knows it's not a good idea to snoop on conversations between her husband and daughter - something was telling her to regardless. Besides, as long as she doesn't get caught, there's surely no harm right? She doesn't even know what's compelling her to do this, but there's definitely something, and it's important to trust your gut at times. 

"I just don't get it.. Why doesn't she love us anymore..?" Murphy asks tearily. 

Stephanie does a double take. Surely, Murphy wasn't talking about her? Of course she loves them! Despite all of the name calling she gets from them, Stephanie couldn't possibly love her daughters any more - they're the light of her life, the reason she wakes up everyday.. she has no doubt the reason she was put on earth was to parent those beautiful young girls. Murphy asking that question was breaking Steph's heart.. but what really concerns her is that Paul isn't giving that reassurance.. 

"Murph.. your mom just gets wrapped up in her own world sometimes. With work, her friends.. she doesn't mean to upset you or your sister, she just has priorities." Paul answers. 

Her eyes widening and chest beginning to tighten up, Stephanie can't believe what her husband just said. Her kids will always be her priority!! How could he say otherwise?? And why isn't he assuring Murphy how much she loves her?? 

"But I love you both.. always remember that, okay?" He says happily. 

This was too much to take in at once. First of all, why does Murphy believe Stephanie doesn't love them anymore?? Absolutely nothing could be further from the truth. But why does Paul seem to be.. well, encouraging those thoughts? It was hurting Stephanie more than she was willing to admit.

She was supposed to be going to Paul for support with their girls, not this! Granted, he might not have explicitly stated that Stephanie didn't love them, but he's clearly allowing Murphy to think that. Also, he's obviously saying these things when he believes no one else is listening. Why the hell would he..?

"What are you doing?!" Aurora shouts from behind her mum. Damn. "Murphy!" She calls to her sister.

Both Murphy and Paul emerge from the teenager's room, looking confused as to why Stephanie was stood by the door. Crap, she was caught red handed. How can she explain this one away..?

"Murph, she was just listening to your conversation.." Aurora says, looking at her mother with almost disgust. "First you're never there for us, now you're invading our privacy??"   
"That's not fair, I'm always here for you.." Steph defends herself.   
"Always?!" Murphy joins in, shouting. "How about all my dance shows? Or Aurora's piano gradings? You've barely been to any of them!" 

The mother's heart sinks; there are few things she feels more guilty about than missing those events. In her defence, she's never blown them off for a social call, it's always been because of a work commitment she simply can't get out of. Besides, Paul's missed these events too, and they seemingly have no problem with him - why is it always Stephanie who ends up being the enemy?

"Girls.. girls, you know how much I love you.." Stephanie pleads, tearing up.   
"No you don't! We'll never be as important as your stupid friends or your stupid job! I wish you weren't our mother!" Murphy exclaims, running over into Aurora's room, her sister following. 

As the door slams, Stephanie begins to cry openly. That's the single most hurtful thing that her own daughter could've done.. do they really wish they had a different mother? Is she really that horrific..?

Rather than comfort his wife, Paul looks her in an almost accusatory way. Yes, she shouldn't have listening to their conversation - but Paul shouldn't have insinuated that there's anything in Stephanie's life which could possibly be more important than her children. For some reason, she can't help but think he wanted this outcome; Of course, that sounds stupid. But if he wanted Stephanie to have a good relationship with her daughters, he would've told Murphy just how much she adores them.

"Why are you crying?" He asks. His voice seemed genuinely confused, but Steph looks towards him like it's obvious.  
"Murphy wishes I wasn't her mother, and you're asking me why I'm crying?"   
"Well maybe, if you worked less and actually spent time with them, she wouldn't feel that way.." Paul chuckles.

How is he chuckling at her? That's one of the single most upsetting moments of her entire life, yet her husband can't even stop himself from laughing? And how does he have any right go say she works too much? Maybe she could be home more, but he isn't exactly innocent of that himself. At least Stephanie's whereabouts can always be explained - half the time, she has no clue where he's swanning off to. 

"Paul.. I'm away from my family when work says I have to be.. I don't even know where you go most nights.." Stephanie says tearily.   
"What is that? Some kind of accusation?" Her husband spits back.   
"No, of course not.. I just want to know where you're going.." she answers. "My own daughters hate me, and I'm scared I'm losing you too.. you never show any interest in me anymore, it's like I'm not attractive to you at all.." 

Looking at her up and down, Paul's eyes remain distant from his wife. Here she was, crying about her life falling apart, admitting how she's been feeling - but there's absolutely nothing from him. They've been married for so long, and she'd give absolutely anything to have things be like they were a few years ago; when Paul clearly had eyes for no one but Stephanie, when her daughters loved her.. when things simply weren't as complicated.

"It's not like you show much interest in me either.. you seem way more interested in being friends with Brie Bella than our marriage."  
"That's not fair! I stopped seeing Brie because you asked me to.."   
"Doesn't stop you from texting her constantly.. always on the phone with her.." Paul says with a sense of dismissal. "You know what? I can't be fucked to deal with your shit today. I'm heading out." He declares.   
"Where are you going Paul?!" Stephanie cries firmly. 

Steph's question falls upon deaf ears; without a response, Paul was walking down the stairs and grabbing his jacket. Soon, there was a slam of the front door from downstairs - away he'd gone to wherever it is he goes. 

While her eyes were still red and puffy, Stephanie walks up to Aurora's bedroom door. She lifts her hand up to knock, but a pit forms in her stomach, and she reluctantly lowers her hand. Right now isn't the time to have round 2 with her daughters; she simply doesn't feel up to it. Maybe a quiet few hours would be good for everyone. 

Stephanie walks her tired bones into the master bedroom; she turns off the light and closes the curtains in attempt to make the room as dark as possible, despite the bright sun outside. Sombrely, the business woman kicks off her shoes and climbs into bed, hiding her face from the world with her duvet. Steph's pillows soon became wet with tears. Her mind was racing with so many things; where Paul could've disappeared to; why her children seem to despise her; why her life is overall tearing apart at the seams. 

But most of all.. Stephanie's mind was thinking about one, specific wish - for Brie to be there with her, telling her that everything would turn out okay.


	11. Chapter 11

Nikki knows this is a bad idea - it's a complete invasion of privacy - but she's somehow convinced herself that it's justified. 

With Brie out filming for Total Bellas, Nikki had let herself into her house. At first, her intentions were innocent; she simply wanted another pudding cup. But when she walked in, Brianna's phone was just there, on the coffee table. Her password is agonisingly easy to guess - Birdie's birthday. She managed to resist picking it up while she ate the pudding, but when there was none left, the phone seemed to fall into her hands? 

Before she'd even realised, Nikki was routing through Brie's texts messages, with only one contact being the reason she felt such a burning curiosity in the first place: Stephanie McMahon. 

Typically, Nikki would have no desire to read her sister's texts. After all, she'd be fuming if Brie did the same to her. But these weren't just 'how are you' texts to their brother or 'I love you' texts to Bran; These were texts to Stephanie, and she couldn't keep here eyes away from the screen.

Of course, this is a really dumb thing to do - Heaven Forbid, she gets caught and has to explain herself. But Nicole's thought process was, she doesn't trust Stephanie; she finds it almost impossible to even entertain the idea of Steph being a good person. Nikki wanted to see for herself that Stephanie was being kind to her sister, or she'd personally rack attack her in the middle of the street. 

'Thank you for being there for me. Not sure what I would've done without you xx' - Stephanie.

Nikki's face scrunches up. What could have happened to make Stephanie turn to Brie in such an impactful way..? As she continues to scroll through, the screen was flooded with messages of a similar kind. Slowly, Nikki was beginning to realise that Brie and Stephanie weren't just new friends - they were extremely close. Both women were seemingly pouring their hearts out to one another, and in such an emotionally honest way.

Going through these messages at all made Nicole feel guilty, but this almost feels as though she's reading their personal diaries; some of the things Brie was telling Steph, ever so casually, were things Nikki's barely heard herself.. 

'Sometimes I just feel like I'm trapped by the idea that I'm somehow past my prime. I've had my career, I've had a comeback, now it's just time for me to be a wife and a mom, when there are other things I'm good for, you know? Why can't I still want to wrestle just because I've had a daughter?' - Brie. 

After reading that short paragraph which her sister had sent, Nikki puts the phone down and abruptly stands up, taking a deep sigh; this was becoming too much. Brie had clearly sent those texts to Stephanie in confidence, and Nikki's the one who broke that circle of trust. At the moment, Nicole is no better than the criminalised version of Stephanie she has in her head. Never before has Brie told her twin that she feels 'trapped', but now she knows anyway. 

Instantly, Nikki regret for doing this. Although, it does make her extremely worried for Brianna's mental health. Not only does she feel this way, but she's bottling it away from her family, and turning to a woman who's name is basically spat on in their houses. By the looks of things, Stephanie seems to have somewhat similar troubles in her own life - something Nikki had never considered a possibility, given Steph's apparent confidence and almost 'bitchy' persona. But still, she shouldn't know this - she shouldn't know any of it. 

In theory, Nicole should be entirely oblivious to her sister's sadness, unless Brie was to say something herself of course. But as her twin, Nikki feels a sense of duty to Brie, like she needs to protect her; she can't do that if doesn't know there's a problem. Granted, it can't justify going through her private messages, but at least she knows to keep an extra eye on Brie, just in case her situation gets any worse. 

Looking on the brighter side, if any good has come out of Nikki's snooping - at least she's finally come to realise that Stephanie's isn't this backstabbing monster she's been fearful of. Clearly, her and Brie had found something comforting in each other. Even though it breaks her heart that Brie can't come to her about it, knowing she has someone gives her a great peace of mind. She was obviously wrong about Steph.. it's something Nicole never believed she would think.. but Stephanie might actually be the sensitive and kind woman Brianna has been depicting her as. 

Snapping her out of thought, Brie walks in alone, with a shopping bag in her hand. Nikki's chest tightened up, hoping she'd be able to get through this conversation without accidentally letting slip that she's been snooping. 

"Heya Brizee.." She smiles.  
"Nikki.. I..Is Bryan here..?" Brie asks, her eyes red and puffy.   
"No, he took Birdie to the park... are you alright?" 

Brianna takes a deep breath and walks over to her sister, they sit down opposite one another; Nikki can easily sense the confusion and somewhat sadness in Brie's demeanour. Recently, she's not been herself, and her twin was of course the first one to notice.. but it just seems more prevalent tonight? It's almost like Brie's.. lost? And the messages Nikki had read only confirms her worries. 

Despite Nicole's concerns, before allowing Brie to talk, there's something which she needs to get off her own chest; something she should've said a long time ago. 

"Before you say anything.. you're still in contact with Stephanie, right?" Nikki fakes innocence, perfectly aware of how much contact they share.   
Brie nods in response. "We talk most days.."   
"I know it might not account for much.. but I want you to know I trust her. I gave her such a hard time, I said some awful things about her when - let's face it - I'm not exactly an angel.." 

Eyes widening with surprise, Brie contemplates what she just heard. Of course, she was happy to hear it - even if it's slightly out of no where. She has no idea what's prompted the change of heart.. but she's too exhausted to think about it too much; there are bigger things in her life to stress over, especially now. 

"You have no idea how happy she'll be when I tell her that.. if she believes me, that is." Brie forces a chuckle.   
"Do me a favour..? Tell her I'm sorry..?"

The guilt was eating Nikki alive by this point. Besides the obvious of snooping through someone else's private messages, she's also dealing with the guilt of how she's treated Steph for so long. Stephanie just isn't the type of person you'd expect to have struggles - of course, she's a human being, and everyone has their hardships.. but even though Nikki shouldn't know about Steph's demons, she can't help but feel bad for her. 

"Nicole.. I need to tell-" Brianna begins, before falling apart completely and breaking down in tears. 

Instantly, Nikki protectively wraps her arms around her twin - she had no idea why she Brie was weeping so much. Normally, she wasn't even that emotional.. Brianna was the type to keep to herself, and only show vulnerability when she's mentally exhausted. 

"I'm sorry.." Brie sobs.  
"Don't say sorry, are you okay? What's going on?" 

Still crying, Brie takes something out of her purse, then hands it to Nikki. Almost immediately, the older twin's jaw drops to the floor. 

Brianna was.. well she was-

"I'm pregnant.." She reveals tearily, while Nicole stares down at the positive test.


	12. Chapter 12

"I'm being serious!" Brie chuckles, doing her best to quieten the tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Nikki said that she trusts me..? Sorry, I just don't buy it.." Stephanie giggles, searching through her wardrobe on the other side of the phone. 

Thankfully, Steph hadn't noticed the sadness in Brie's voice yet. Originally, she called in hopes of talking to Steph about her pregnancy - something which speaks volumes, considering her own husband doesn't even know yet. The younger woman was just hoping to get some advice about the baby; after all, Steph was the only person who even somewhat understood Brianna's reservations about having another child.

Although, when Stephanie answered the call, they both found it ever so easy to chat their way into a different conversation entirely. To be honest, Brie was almost glad to talk about non-important things for a change; recently, her life just seems so serious.. she's all business and babies, it's rare she gets to simply laugh with a friend. At some point, she'll mention the pregnancy.. but not yet, she can't face it. 

Besides, Stephanie was the perfect person to have conversations like this with - when they're being serious, they're serious, and can talk about absolutely anything. But when they're talking about the nonsensical stuff, the things that mean nothing but can still, somehow make them laugh.. they make one another feel lighter, in a sense. 

"Hit me then, what outfit are you looking for?" Brie asks, doing her best to perk up a little.   
"Well, Paul's supposed to be at home tonight, and I have some making up to do.. so hopefully, just something that'll make him look twice at me.." 

Internally, Brie rolls her eyes. 'Making up to do' - like Stephanie is capable of doing anything so wrong. 

"Well, if you wear nothing, I'm pretty sure that'll catch his attention." Brie laughs, prompting Stephanie to burst into a fit of giggles herself. "But really, you'd look amazing in whatever you put on.."

Smiling softly, Stephanie can feel her cheeks beginning to glow. With Paul seemingly paying less and less attention to her every day, receiving compliments like that are a rarity - even if it's only a throwaway comment, Steph appreciates it more than Brie could know. Of course, it wasn't a throwaway comment; Brie knows just how beautiful Stephanie is, there's no mistaking her for anything else. 

Although, Steph can't confidently say that she's felt very pretty recently. After all, her husband's hardly home - most of the time, without any explanation - and when the rare occasion occurs that Paul does spend an evening with her, he isn't particularly affectionate. That's why she wants to dress up for him; maybe, if she makes more of an effort, she'll be kore likely to get a reaction. 

As odd as it may sound, it isn't really the affection Stephanie misses.. she truly just misses feeling loved. She can't remember the last time Paul, or either of her daughters gave her a hug - it's like she's completely invisible. Hopefully, with a posh dress and some lipstick, Stephanie will bring out the Paul she once fell in love with - the attractive, handsome, caring man who protected her from the world.. if he's still there. 

"What dress have you got on right now?" Brie asks.   
"This red one I haven't worn in a while.. Paul used to like it.." Stephanie answers, looking herself up and down in a floor length mirror.  
"Used to?"  
"Well, last time I wore it somewhere, he said he liked it - but that was ages ago now, and I've gained weight since then.. I'm not sure something figure hugging would be such a good idea."  
Brie scoffs. Gained weight? Like there's an ounce of anything but muscle on that woman. "Text me a picture?" She suggests.

Complying, Stephanie opens her camera and smiles as she takes a photo in the mirror. Normally, she isn't one for selfies - but this is about the dress, not herself. Besides, it's only Brie.. no online internet trolls to judge every part of her body, no gossip magazines to trash her outfit.. it would only be seen by a pair of extremely kind eyes. She sends the photo to Brie and awaits her judgement. Even if she knows that Brie will tell her it looks good either way, it's still nice to have that reassurance. 

There's a long pause as Brie gazes at the picture for longer than she knows is acceptable. If she's being entirely honest, she isn't thinking about how beautiful the dress is, more so the woman in it. Of course, the dress is gorgeous, but put it on anybody else and it wouldn't be nearly as pretty; the way the red fabric perfectly rested along Steph's even more prefect curves.. it was almost like the garment was tailored specifically for her. Brie was simply in awe of Stephanie's beauty, and she's rendered speechless because of it.

"What do you think..?" The older woman gently prompts.  
"Sorry Steph, I.. you look absolutely stunning - Paul's one lucky man.." 

As she said Paul's name, a sharp sting of jealousy runs through Brie. She can just imagine it; Paul catching a glimpse of Stephanie's beauty, then pouncing on her and showing her all the love and worship in the world. And who could blame him? When his wife looks like that, he'd be a fool to resist her. Brie would give anything for Bryan to see her in the same light.

Then, thinking of Bryan, it hits Brie all over again - she's pregnant. She's pregnant with his baby.. and rather than celebrating with him, she's sat in a lonely living room, feeling jealous of the relationship between one of her closest friends and a man she barely knows.

Yes, Brianna had initially phoned Stephanie with the intention of telling her about the pregnancy.. but she was still in tatters about it herself, how could she tell anyone else? It's a near miracle she found it within herself to tell Nikki, and they're twins for God's sake! Even then, Brianna couldn't face telling her she was sad about it.. granted, she was crying, but managed to explain it away by blaming hormones.

"I don't think it suits me that well.. do you think it's too much?" Stephanie ponders.

And with that simple question, Brie's mind was off her pregnancy, and back to focusing on/appreciating the beauty of her friend. While she understands insecurity very well, she'll never understand Steph's insecurities. All you have to do is merely glance at her to be completely captivated; she isn't just beautiful, she's near angelic.

"Steph, trust me.. you don't have anything to worry about.. you're so beaut- the dress. The dress is beautiful." Brie stumbles.

Of course, it's normal to recognise, or even admire, the beauty of your friends - but Stephanie's different. Maybe everyone just looks at her a certain way? After all, it's not exactly difficult to be left in a trance by her. But Brie found herself almost in awe of Stephanie.. and it wasn't that long ago they hated one another. Now, it's a different story, and they feel almost the opposite.

Before she could say anything too embarrassing, Brie finds a way to finish the conversation, sweetly saying goodbye before hanging up the phone. She takes a deep sigh, regretting not mentioning about her baby. Stephanie didn't seem all too happy herself, maybe it's a good thing she didn't bring it up? But at the moment, it feels like Stephanie's the only person who can help her..

It's not like this pregnancy will go away, Brie's having another child in nine months, wether she likes it or not. All she wants is for Stephanie to tell her that she'll get through it.. because if Steph told her, she might just believe it. 

Brie begins to tear up once again, curling her legs up to her chest; she cried telling Nikki, couldn't even face telling Stephanie.. how in hell is she going to tell Bryan..? 

\-------------------------------

Later in the evening, Stephanie sits on the sofa while reading a magazine, waiting for Paul to turn up. He should've been home an hour ago; why she's still surprised, she never knows. Part of her wants to know where Paul is, another part of her already knows..

Here she is, all dressed up in sexy red dress, plastered in makeup, and foolishly waiting for a husband who hasn't shown interest in her for God knows how long. She feels like an idiot, but what else is she supposed to do? Lying in an empty bed gets so lonely after a while, waiting for Paul nearly seems worth it. 

The front door clicks, and Stephanie's eyes light up. Finally, he was home, and she could get some attention.

Eagerly, she stands up, throwing the magazine to the side, and walking the the hallway. The moment her husband walks through the door, Steph's heart drops. Paul's shirt is untucked, his buttons are done up in the wrong holes, and he once again smells like a perfume Stephanie doesn't wear. Quite upsettingly, this is a sight she's become accustomed to, but it doesn't make it hurt any less.

"Where've you been..?" Steph asks, welling up with fear of his answer.  
"Work.." he slurs in response.

Oh great. And he's drunk too? Thankfully, he doesn't appear wasted, but he's definitely had a drink. Now she's thinking about it, that smell of perfume might actually be a cocktail - something which she can't decide on if it's comforting or enraging. 

"Hey.. why've you put that on..?" Paul smirks, walking over to his wife and taking hold of her waist.  
Firmly, Stephanie steps backward and folds her arms. "Where were you, Paul?" She repeats, trying not to cry. "I can smell the alcohol on you, so don't tell me you were at work."   
"Fine. I was at work, then I went for a drink after with Seth." He defends. "Is that illegal now?"  
"Stop being such a child, Paul - you know I wouldn't have minded. But you could've texted me and told me, I've been reading that magazine for nearly an hour, waiting for you.."  
"I didn't ask you to wait for me.. if you're going to be like this, I'm just gonna go to bed. Join me if you want or sleep down here, I really couldn't care less." Paul spits, angrily storming up the stairs. 

The moment her husband was out of sight, Stephanie allows herself to weep. Once again, he manages to make her feel deeply insecure; when she showed Brie this dress, the younger woman near convinced her that she actually looked quite nice.. any feeling of confidence has definitely left Stephanie now. 

For a brief second, she considers phoning Brie again, or even texting her - but soon enough, she decides against it. Even though she feels perfectly comfortable talking to Brie, she still feels embarrassed about putting so much effort into looking nice for a man who's priorities clearly lie somewhere else. Besides, Brie deserves a break from constantly hearing about Steph's problems. 

Disappointed, Stephanie collapses onto her sofa and gives herself the time to cry out all the emotions.


	13. Chapter 13

Brie really didn't want to do this now, but she would have to do it eventually, and it isn't fair how Nikki knows whilst Bryan is non the wiser. 

Even though she knows that telling Bryan about her pregnancy is the right thing to do, Brianna simply doesn't want to do it. Saying it out loud will make it all the more real. Granted, she was able to tell Nikki, but that was only hours after finding out herself; Brie said it while she was still caught up in the emotion and the adrenaline was still pumping. Now she's having to come clean to Bryan, she's fully aware.

Besides, with Nikki, Brie allowed herself to cry when she said it - now, she'll have to pretend to be happy about it. No matter how hard she tries, Brianna just can't bring herself to smile about this baby: genuinely, at least. This wasn't what she wanted, but she only blames herself; she's been having unprotected sex with Bryan for months now, what was she expecting? But it doesn't make this any less difficult.. if anything, it makes it harder. 

The young woman stands in the kitchen, looking towards the living room, where Bryan is sitting on the floor and playing a game of tea parties with Birdie. A huge part of her feels incredibly guilty; Bryan was such a good dad, even if he wasn't the most attentive of a husband at times. Just like he is with Birdie, he'll be an amazing father to their new little one.. but Brie can't stop thinking about how she'll fair with their new child - what kind of mother will she be if she isn't even happy at the sight of a positive pregnancy test?

Cautiously, Brianna walks over to her family and sits on the floor with them. She reaches a hand out to Birdie, who's dressed in her mum's necklaces and a plastic tiara. 

"You look pretty, Bird.. do you think you could play in your room while me and daddy have a grown up talk?" She asks.   
"But daddy is the prince!" Birdie exclaims, folding her little arms in a huff.  
Bryan chuckles, then looks over to his wife, pointing towards the plastic crown his daughter insisted he wore. "I am the prince.." he laughs, then turns back to Birdie. "Sweet girl, please will you give us a minute? I'll be the prince in a little while.." 

Thankfully, Birdie does as she's asked, and toddles off into her bedroom, dragging one of her dollies along with her. 

Bryan takes the plastic crown off his head and places it on the floor, then looks up to Brie. "This must be important, interrupting the queen's royal tea party" he laughs.   
Brie chuckles along. "It is really important actually.." she says, a little more serious in tone. 

Sensing the shift, Bryan gets up off the floor and gives Brie a hand standing up too. The couple sit on the couch together. 

Doing her best to seem happy, Brie plasters the biggest smile she can muster across her face; luckily, it doesn't come across as too fake to Bryan. She takes a deep breath and wonders how to word this - how do you say something you feel so sad about whilst appearing over the moon? Maybe she should've planned this out more? Oh well, she's gone too far to back out now. 

"Well.. I have some news.." she begins, doing all she can to keep the smile going.

Bryan looks at her in anticipation. Of course, he has his own ideas on what he wants her to say. After all, in his mind, they've both been wanting to have another child for ages; every time she mentions having 'news', his hope shoots through the roof. If anything, it's just another reason Brie feels guilty - she's allowed him to believe they both want this. Yes, Bryan could be more attentive.. but maybe Brie could also be more firm? 

"Brianna.." he encourages, taking hold of her hands. "Are you..?"  
She keeps smiling, and nods her head. "I'm pregnant!" She finally manages to blurt out.

Without another word, Bryan easily picks Brie up and twirls her around the room, hugging her closely. As Brie buries her head into his shoulder, a single tear falls from her eyes; he couldn't be happier, yet she couldn't feel more.. well, she feels trapped. Now that Bryan knows, there really is no going back.. she's having this child, regardless on how she feels about any of it. 

"This is amazing! ...Christ, what do we do? Who do we tell? Should we tell Birdie yet? Does Nikki know? Do you think she's told Artem? What about our parents? How long did we wait until telling people last time?" Bryan rambles excitedly.   
"Slow down!" Brie chuckles, worming out of his grip and falling back on the couch.   
"Hey.. hey, why are you upset..?" He asks, noticing the tears on his wife's cheeks. 

Brie quickly wipes her face with her hands - this was affecting her more than she'd ever be willing to admit. Having a baby isn't just a hobby, it's a life altering experience; Birdie was her miracle, but she just wasn't in the mind space to ever be a mother to a second. 

"Happy tears!" Brie brushes off, hugging Bryan quickly, mainly so she could hide the guilt all of her face. "Hey, is it okay if I call my mom and tell her?" She makes an excuse to leave the room.   
"Of course! I'll call my family too.." he beams. 

As quick as possible, Brie retreats to her bedroom; as long as she's alone, she's safe to cry, and she doesn't need to feel guilty about expressing the emotions she's feeling. It goes without saying that Brie had absolutely no intention of calling her mom - that can wait for another day. As of now, all Brie wants to do cry everything away. Yes, it won't stop her pregnancy.. but to might help her to finally process it.

Hiding under the bedsheets, Brianna's mascara smears across both her face and the white bed sheets. Everything was set in stone now.. Brie was going to be a mother of two. It felt as though she was in some self driving car; almost as if Brianna was moving in a direction she didn't want to go in, but simply couldn't take the wheel and turn around. God, if she's like this telling Bryan - Lord knows how she'll tell Birdie, or the media..

Perhaps this was stupid, but there was one person who Brie knew could (and would) comfort her, even in this state - Stephanie McMahon. Maybe she shouldn't be leaning on such a new friend so heavily, but if one thing has become clear in all their conversations, it's how much they understand each other. Even when the world seems to be crumbling, Stephanie would know what to say.. she always does. 

Brie grabs her phone and, like a pathetic teenager, she phones Steph while still underneath the soft duvet. Being under the covers feels somewhat comforting for the young woman; she'll be able to hear Stephanie's voice while being in complete darkness. This way, Brianna can pretend like the world around her isn't there, like the only people in existence are herself and Stephanie.

After what feels like an eternity of hearing the phone ring, there's finally an answer.

"Hello?" Stephanie says, almost giving Brie some reassurance straight away. "Brie, why are you crying..?" She immediately hears.  
"I.. I can't tell you why.." Brie whimpers.

Instantly, Brianna feels embarrassed - she's just phoned a woman up, crying her eyes out - of course she's going to ask why! But Brie didn't want Stephanie to know about her pregnancy.. at first, she wanted Steph to know; she wanted her to be a shoulder to cry on. But Brie feels almost ashamed by the whole situation, and she doesn't want to admit to another soul what's going on. Stephanie will find out eventually, there'll come a point where the baby bump will give it away. But until she absolutely has to.. Brie has every intention on keeping this a secret. 

"You know you can tell me anything, right..?" Stephanie says sweetly.   
"I know.. and I trust you, you know I do.. but I'm exhausted, Steph.. I just needed someone.." Brie admits between her tears. 

Despite being very worried, Stephanie chooses not to pry for information; whatever is going on, it's best that Brie tells her at her own pace. Plus, if Brie's asking her to just be there, she will. After all, Stephanie understands the need to simply feel a comforting presence - sometimes, having that one person there can keep you from going over the edge. From what she's hearing, it seems as though Brie might be close, so she's glad to be there for her now. 

"I'm here.." she assures the younger woman.

For around five straight minutes, Brie can't find it within herself to say anything; she feels so weak, even talking feels like too much. All Brianna can do in this time is cry into the pillows, and be grateful that Bryan won't be able to hear her in the living room. Her heart was breaking.. there was a life in her tummy, a life that needed her - yet she couldn't provide the overjoyed feeling of happiness most mother's do when they think of their unborn child. 

Suddenly, Brie becomes painfully aware of how much time she's let pass without saying anything. Once again, she feels embarrassed. 

"Stephanie!" She exclaims, terrified that Steph would've left her.   
"Hey, it's okay, I've not gone anywhere.. I won't go until you ask me to.."   
"I wish you were here with me.." Brie whimpers. 

At this point, Brie doesn't care if she sounds stupid; she's never felt more lonely, and it feels like Stephanie's the only one who cares enough to listen. Obviously, she knows her family cares - but Bryan is too fixated on this child to notice how Brie feels about it, and Nikki just wouldn't understand. But Stephanie? She makes Brianna happy... and she can make her laugh, and when Brie needs someone, it always seems to be Steph that she turns to. 

What Brie wouldn't give for Stephanie to just walk through the bedroom door and lie there with her.. be close to her.. hide from the world in her arms, where Brie knows she'd feel the safest.

"You're worrying me.." Steph whispers. "What's going on..?"   
"Please just.. please stay on the phone with me..? I don't want to be on my own.."   
"Of course.. I won't go anywhere, I promise.." 

And there Brie lays.. crying down the phone to a woman she desperately wishes was closer to her.


	14. Chapter 14

Despite 'Friends' being one of her favourite TV shows, Stephanie can't seem to even remotely concentrate on the sitcom; her mind is somewhere else entirely, and she's completely lost in her own thoughts. 

For some reason, her phone call with Brie a couple of days prior has really shaken the older woman. The way Brie sounded, crying so desperately down the phone, it felt.. traumatic? Maybe that's on the extreme side, but Steph's heart genuinely ached when she heard Brianna weeping. Steph still doesn't know what exactly happened to make her so upset, but Brie was clearly in a lot of pain and it hurt Stephanie in return.

For longer than Steph can remember, her and Brie were supposedly bitter rivals - but that couldn't be further from the truth. Once they actually got to know one another, a friendship blossomed instantly. And now.. well, they aren't just great friends; they're almost each other's life raft; they can turn to one another in moments of crisis, and they never let each other down. As much as it hurt Stephanie to hear Brie cry, it was sweet to know she trusted her so much. Besides, part of her felt quite proud to be somewhat of a protecter to Brianna. 

Sometimes, Stephanie wonders if she's grown too attached to the younger woman - but she shakes those thoughts away pretty quickly, she couldn't bare to distance herself from Brie, not when they aren't even meeting in person. Thinking of that, being without her is tearing Steph apart; she'd do almost anything for Brie to simply turn up at Raw one day and give her a hug.. it's long overdue. Even if it would make Paul angry, it would be worth it, just to hug her again..

With Paul now on the mind, Stephanie is once again reminded that he isn't here, and she's alone. At the very least, she actually knows where he is this time - there's a work meeting going on that Stephanie would've gone to herself, had she not have been needed in a zoom meeting at a clashing time. Steph wishes that she wasn't always questioning Paul's whereabouts, but he always leaves without a word and comes home in a state; it's hard not to fill in the blanks with painful scenarios, even if they're not 100% true.

Suddenly, a Metallica song begins to play; considering Stephanie's love for Motown music, it's definitely not her ringtone. Paul on the other hand.. Metallica has been his favourite band ever since they got married. She listens out for where the song was coming from - eventually, she spots a phone vibrating on the opposing arm chair. Clearly, it was supposed to be hidden by one of the cushions, but a half arsed job was made of that. 

Curiously, Steph walks over to the phone and picks it up - it definitely isn't the phone Paul uses on a daily basis, and it's not his work phone either.. why does he have another one..? 

In the time it took to spot this phone, the ringing had stopped, but as Steph's about to call her husband with several questions, a text notification appears. Deep down, Stephanie knows that she won't like what she reads.. but another part of her needs to know regardless. 

Reluctantly, she opens the notification and reads carefully. 

'Hey Paul! Tried ringing but you didn't answer. Can you call me back when you get the chance? Thank you xx' - Laura.

Laura? Who in hell is Laura? Stephanie racks her brains, desperately trying to imagine who Laura could possibly be. She's met most of WWE's employees, and not one of them is named Laura; plus, Paul's never mentioned that name in conversation before, so it's not one of his friends.. the only option that's left is.. well, one that Stephanie really doesn't want to believe. 

Her eyes becoming watery, Stephanie decides to go to the one person who can comfort her in situations like this - Brie Bella. Part of her feels guilty: ringing Brie when she's most likely still upset herself. But Stephanie needs to hear Brianna's voice; hear her kind and calming words; hear what Brie says and pretend like she's there in front of her.

As Stephanie curls up onto the couch, she takes out her phone and calls her friend. There's a ringing noise for about a minute; Steph's chest begins to tighten at the idea of her not answering. Thankfully, her fears are shut down pretty quickly, and she can listen to the voice she craves reassurance from. 

"Brie..?" Stephanie whispers.  
"Hey Steph.. wait, you sound like you're crying..?" Brie immediately notices. 

Stephanie ironically chuckles to herself - it's almost silly how quickly they catch onto one another. It'll forever be a mystery why they didn't confide in each other years ago. Although, they've never really needed a bond this strong until now; with their lives seemingly falling apart, it's hard to imagine getting through it without each other.

"I..I-I don't know what to say.. I just needed someone.." Steph admits, whimpering slightly. "I'm sorry, I know I must sound stupid.."  
"Hey, you were there for me when I needed you.. And it's not stupid to be upset, what's wrong?" Brie asks, concerned.

Stephanie ponders what to say - she doesn't want to out right say 'I think Paul is seeing another woman', because that will make everything feel too real. Besides, she's spent too long suppressing that idea to freely talk about it now. For the time being, she wants to keep the why to herself.. so maybe it's best to just explain how it makes her feel? After all, Brie's the sweetest woman in the world, she'll find a way to make Stephanie smile somehow. 

"I feel.. I feel almost hollow? Like I'm nothing.. if I disappeared, no one would notice, or care enough to be sad about it.." she explains gloomily.  
"Steph, you know that I'd be devastated if you ever disappeared.." Brie replies genuinely. "Hey.. I have an idea. Are you in your living room?" She smiles.  
"Yes..?"

A plan was formulating in Brie's head - perhaps she can't make Stephanie's situation any better, but she's definitely able to make her feel cared about. Besides, it's not exactly difficult when Brianna genuinely does care, more than she could even express; after all, Brie would feel lost without the older woman.. the other day, when Brianna was a complete wreck, Lord knows what would've happened if she couldn't have spoken to Steph. 

"Do you have a blanket near you..?" Brie asks.   
"I do.. what're you making me do..?" Stephanie chuckles.   
"Just go with me a moment.. get the blanket, and wrap yourself up in it. Lie down, then use a cushion as your pillow.." 

As instructed, Stephanie retrieves the tartan blanket from one of the arm chairs and sits back down on the couch. She places a cushion on one end, then stretches her body out to lie down, putting her phone on loud speaker and resting it next to the pillow. As odd as this was, she trusted Brie's tactics of cheering up; plus, she did feel rather snug. 

"I'm all wrapped up.."   
"Right.. now, imagine Paul laying-"  
"No!" Stephanie interrupts. "Please Brie.. I.. I really don't want to think about Paul right now.." she says, her eyes becoming teary once again.   
"Oh.. okay.." Brie smiles, sensing an opportunity. "How about me..? Imagine that I'm laying there with you.. that I'm laying close to you, hugging you tightly.. protecting you from whatever's upset you.." she explains quietly. 

Steph's heart begins beating so loudly, she's surprised that Brie can't hear it through the line. It's as if Brie could read her mind, as if she knows that's exactly what Stephanie's been wanting for the longest time. Getting to hug Brie again is something she's been craving for weeks, and now she has the opportunity to loose herself in the idea. 

"Imagine me telling you that.. that you're the most amazing woman I know.. that I'll always be there for you, no matter what happens.. " Brie says. "Think about me reaching around you and grabbing your hand.." 

For a moment, Stephanie's breath hitches; even though they're only on the phone, this feels so.. intimate.

"There.. do you feel cared about now..?" Brie asks warmly, a glow in her cheeks.   
"I do.." Stephanie smiles back, still mildly breathless. "I miss you.." she admits. "I wish you could actually be here, laying next to me.."  
Brianna takes a depth. "Then why don't I come see you? Screw what Bryan says, or what Paul says.. how about I come to Raw next week and give you enough hugs to make up for lost time?" She suggests. 

Stephanie's face lights up. At this point, she doesn't care if Paul doesn't want them to see each other - her and Brie were supposed to be this close, and she won't ignore that to please a husband who's always vanishing and receives texts from mystery women. As much as it hurt her to admit, Brie makes her happier than Paul does nowadays.. which is exactly why they need a reunion. 

"I'd love that! I really, really miss you.. " Stephanie beams, desperately clinging onto the feeling Brie's scenario gave her.

"I miss you too, Steph.. but I promise we'll make it up.. " Brianna replies, resting her hand on her fast beating heart.


	15. Chapter 15

With Bryan and Birdie on a day trip with Nana, Artem at work and Nikki busy sat home, Brie has her own home to herself for the day. As much as she wishes she was taking the opportunity to do something productive, she's decided to dedicate this time to hiding in her bedroom and having a weep. So much emotion builds throughout her during the days - when she's alone, Brianna always takes the chance to cry it out of her system. 

Rather than crying to her husband or sister, Brie would much prefer crying to herself. There's a life in her tummy, and despite already loving them, she has to face the fact that she doesn't want them. While her intentions are good, Nikki just wouldn't understand, and Bryan's way too excited to even listen. There's a reason she's always on the phone to Stephanie.. but after their last conversation, Brianna chose to leave Steph alone for the day. 

Of course, Brie knows that Steph wouldn't mind her calling, but Stephanie's clearly going through a hard time herself and she doesn't want to add to that. Besides, the older woman doesn't even know Brie's pregnant yet, and she isn't up to revealing the news to anyone else just yet - her parents, siblings and extended family were too much to begin with.

Despite the many people who've been told about the pregnancy, it feels as though Brie's hasn't accepted the idea herself yet. No matter what, their family will have an extra member in nine months, but Brianna simply can't see it; no part of her mind has adjusted yet, and what of it never does? What if she's given her baby after labour and she feels as though it's not her baby??

Just the thought is making her panic intensely. Of course, she loves her baby, but that isn't something which makes her smile.

As her mind begins to race, her heart matches; suddenly, Brianna's heart was beating so ferociously that her chest was tightening and causing pain. She's only ever had a couple of anxiety attacks throughout her life - but they were in childhood - never as a grown woman. With that being said, she'll always recognise the feeling in an instant. Gradually, Brianna's breathing was becoming irregular, the pain in her chest making it much harder to breath. 

In an attempt to calm herself down, Brie emerges from underneath her duvet and sits upwards; she tries counting to ten slowly, but her mind is too jumbled to count at any steady pace. It must've only beens seconds, but Brianna's next few panicked breaths seemed to last hours - it felt as though she was fighting to breathe underwater. 

Acting by instinct, the scared young woman reaches for her phone and calls the first contact her fingers landed upon. 

Before anyone could answer, Brie's head becomes dizzy from the lack of steady oxygen; no matter how hard she tries to concentrate on listening to the phone, she couldn't focus on anything but the overwhelming anxiety rush. Still under panic's spell, Brianna's eyes roll to the back of her head, and she slumps back onto the bed. 

***********************************

"Brizee! Brie!" She hears, lazily opening her eyes to see her sister looking incredibly concerning. 

Nicole's sitting over her twin, shaking her in attempts to wake her up. Thank God she only lives next door. 

"What happened..?" Brie asks, slowly sitting upwards, her heart still beating swiftly.   
"You called me.. you didn't say anything, you were just breathing really loudly.. I think you might've passed out.." she answers, taking Brie's hand. "It's probably a panic attack.."

Still in a hazed and confused state, Brie tries to stand up, but her legs are too weak to support her weight. Thankfully, Nicole keeps her on the bed, not needing much strength to do so. To be honest, even Brie didn't know where she was going, she just wanted to get out; she loves her sister but Nikki doesn't understand quite how petrified she is, and probably wouldn't understand why either. There's only one person she wants right now, the one woman who knew how to make her feel safe. 

"Stephanie!" Brie cries out, her emotions spilling out.  
"Steph..? Wha-what about her..?" Nikki asks, then her eyes suddenly flash with anger. "Has Stephanie said something?? Has she upset you?!"   
"No.. Stephanie, I want Stephanie.." Brianna keeps crying, completely breaking down in her twin's arms.

Nicole holds her sister tightly; she might not be the woman she's crying desperately for, but she'll have to do. If Nikki hadn't read those texts, she'd be incredibly confused by this, but all she actually feels is pure guilt. Brie was obviously going through turmoil, and for whatever reason, she was asking for Stephanie McMahon as opposed to her own family.. Nicole just feels crushed that she can't be what Brie needs.

"Stephanie wouldn't make me do this.. she wouldn't make me have a baby, she wouldn't make me pretend.." Brianna weeps, not quite realising what she's giving away. 

Tears fall down Brie's cheeks as she buries her head into her sister's neck, weakly grabbing onto Nicole's arms. She's in too much of a state to comprehend that she's basically revealed to Nikki how she truly feels about a second child. Right now, there are God knows how many emotions running through her, and she needed to get them out, wether it be for better or worse. Crying on her own in an empty room can only go so far it seems..

Although she wishes she hadn't blurted it out, Brianna genuinely does believe that Stephanie would've noticed the signs.. granted, she never explicitly told Bryan 'no' to a new child, but she never jumped for joy either. Maybe Stephanie would've noticed that? No, she definitely would've - Steph could read Brie like a book, it's one of the little things she's completely fallen for.. and there are so many of those things which she's found within that one, beautiful, woman..

"How long have you been thinking that way, Brizee..?" Nikki asks, stroking her twin's back comfortingly.   
"I.. I'm not sure when it happened.. I-I think I started having feelings for her not long after we met for coffee.. She just makes me feel safe, and secure, and-"  
"Wait a minute, I meant how long you've been thinking about your baby that way?" Nicole interrupts. Her eyes widen when she realises what Brie's implying. "You have feelings for Stephanie McMahon?!" 

Standing up abruptly, Nikki runs her hands through her hair, mumbling under her breath; does Brianna really have feelings for Stephanie?? She was only just beginning to wrap her head around them being friends, and now Brie was seeing her as something more? But now the idea is in her mind.. she can almost see it. Whenever Brie talks about Steph, her eyes light up, like there's no one else she'd rather talk about; when Bryan asked they didn't see one another anymore, Brie looked almost as crushed as she does now.

Brie watches her sister pace to and from either side of the bedroom with frightened eyes. She didn't mean to admit her feelings - hell, she wasn't even sure they were real until she said it out loud.. but now it's out there, Brianna was coming to the realisation of how true it is. Stephanie really does cause her heart to feel warmer; she simply makes Brie happy and.. well, Stephanie feels like home. But all Brie can feel is disgust, all of it directed towards herself... because she's having these feelings, all whilst wearing someone else's wedding ring. 

"I can't believe you.. Brie, you're married! You're pregnant with his baby!" Nikki shouts, tearing up herself.   
"I'm sorry! I wish I didn't have these feelings!"'she responds, curling her feet up on the bed.   
"You know I love you Brianna, of course I do but.. God, you've put me in such a fucked up position! Bryan's gonna flip!"   
"No.. No, Nicole, please don't tell Bryan.." Brie begs.

She can't bare the thought of Bryan finding out - she's pregnant, this could ruin their marriage and the what would happen to their baby? Born into a family with such a complicated scenario against them from day one? Bryan might not be the knight in shining armour that Brie's always dreamed of; they might argue; they might want different things out of life.. but he's a good man. He's the man she promised to love no matter what, and he definitely doesn't deserve this.

"Brie, if I found out that Artem had feelings for someone else, and you knew about it, then kept it secret.. you know I'd never talk to you again.." 

Brianna stands up, then strides to her sister's side, grabbing her hands. She knew that Nikki was right - if she discovered that Artem had eyes for someone else - the first thing she'd do is tell Nicole.. but this is different somehow. This wouldn't just be wrecking a marriage, this is potentially wrecking the life of a young girl and an unborn baby. Perhaps Brie deserves the punishment.. but the children certainly don't. 

"Please don't tell him, Nicole.." Brie says. "They aren't even real feelings! It's just one of those stupid friend crushes that anyone can get.." she downplays the severity.   
"Brie.. you're on the phone to her all the time.."  
"I'm keeping it under control though! I'm doing something about it.. I.. I'm not seeing her again! I'll stop phoning her, I'll stop contact with her all together, just please don't say anything to Bryan!" She pleads emotionally. 

The last thing Brie wants is the idea of not having Stephanie in her life anymore.. but despite how amazing she is, it's just a fact that Brianna's life would be simpler if she'd never agreed to that coffee date. Perhaps one day she'd get used to not having her around..? After all, maybe it's better that she learns to lean on her family as opposed to Stephanie..? 

Who is she kidding? Brianna's heart was going to break without Stephanie.. but she isn't choosing Bryan over Steph - she's choosing her daughter, her unborn child, and the rest of her family.. no matter how much it hurts her, they have to come first.

".. I-if you promise you'll cut off all contact with Stephanie, I won't say a word.." Nicole offers, a single tear falling down her face. 

Brianna gulps, holding back the loud sobs she can feel building up. "I... I promise."


	16. Chapter 16

Despite how bloody freezing it is outside, Stephanie had promised herself to wait outside the doors before the show started; Brie was going to turn up any minute, and she wants to be there when she's walking up to the building. 

While working out the details, Brie had mentioned that she's going to come alone (both Bryan and Nikki were busy), so she can run up to her and give her the longest, most overdue hug they've both been craving. Of course, Stephanie would still hug Brie, even if she came with her family - but she has to be cautious of the fact that said family don't particularly like her.

Shivering slightly, Steph wraps her arms around herself; wearing a sleeveless dress probably wasn't the best idea for such a cold day. Although, Stephanie was quite pleased with herself when she looked in the mirror this morning - so it's worth withstanding the cool air for a few minutes. Besides, actually liking her reflection was becoming a sort of rarity these days; Paul never compliments her, and her children certainly don't. But this dress was a designer brand, so it's an inherent mood lifter. Plus, Brie's presence generally makes Steph feel more confident anyway. 

Brianna's way of making Stephanie feel happier is something the older woman's been pondering over the past few days - knowing she's coming to Raw has left it lingering in her mind. There's no denying that Brie makes Stephanie feel wanted and valued, simply the way she looks at her makes Steph's heart near skip a beat. But besides that, there a so many beautiful, little things about Brie which Steph has never found within another person. 

"Ms McMahon?" A professional voice calls from behind her.

She turns around to see her secretary, Rosie, standing in the doorway, holding a clipboard.

"You've been out here a while, are you okay..?"   
"Oh.. yeah, I'm just waiting for someone.." Steph replies.  
"Still?" Rosie questions. "Miss, we've just reached the first commercial break?" 

Mildly perplexed, Stephanie looks down at her watch and comes to the realisation that she's been waiting in this bitter wind for about half an hour. It's not like Brie to be late - let alone 30 minutes late. Despite many people's probable reaction of rightfully getting angry for being kept waiting, Steph's initial feeling is worry. Her mind was going to scary places, even though there was no need for them. What if Brie was driving here and got in a car accident? Or what if she stopped to get gas and some crazy fan attacked her? 

Shaking her head of the thoughts, Steph clears her throat in attempt to compose herself; Rosie doesn't need to see her be in a state over something which probably hasn't happened. Stephanie isn't even sure why her gut reaction is so negative, but perhaps it's just the protective side of her coming out? After all, she'll openly admit to being protective over Brie, particularly.

"Don't worry, I'm sure they'll turn up soon.. you know how traffic can be." Rosie smiles before waltzing back into the building. 

Slightly stunned by Brie's lateness, Stephanie quickly racks her brains for anything which could possibly be the reason. Hopefully, she can arrive at a conclusion which doesn't involve Brianna being hurt, a thought so unbearable it could almost make her cry. So what else could it actually be..? Supposedly, traffic is an easy answer - almost too easy.. if that really were the case, why wouldn't Brie just text a heads up? 

Thinking of texting, Stephanie pulls out her phone to send Brie a message; before doing so, she rechecks their messages from a few days ago. No, they definitely agreed upon today's date, there's no mistaking that part. She goes to type something out, being careful not to come across as too whiny. 

'Hi Brie, hope you're alright. I'm outside waiting for you, are you okay? Xx' - Stephanie, 

Once the text was sent, Steph slumps against the side of the wall. Words can't describe how excited she was to spend time with Brianna again. It feels as though they've both been through the absolute ringer as of late, it would've been nice to forget about all their problems and just enjoy one another's company; they get along so well, by merely being in the same room, they can each find so much comfort. Being honest.. comfort is something they're both in desperate need of at the moment. 

Stephanie's mind casts back to the day they met up for coffee - it was almost like the first time they met each other for real. Before then, it was bitterness and caution; afterwards, it became sweetness and carefree abandonment. Brianna looked so beautiful that day - simple dress and cowboy boots, hardly any makeup - a signature Brie outfit, but God was she stunning. In all honesty, she'd look gorgeous in anything, but there was something so perfect about a makeup-free Brianna. She just looked.. radiant.

Without that day happening, they might still be rivals today. Lord knows how Stephanie would cope with her world if Brie wasn't part of it..

Snapping her back into reality, Rosie once again stands by the door. 

"Still not here, Miss..?" She asks. Steph shakes her head. "I'm sorry but I doubt they'll show up now.. we're half way through the show, you've probably lost track of time.."   
"But.. but she promised me.." Stephanie whispers to herself, so quiet that Rosie can't hear.   
"You should probably come inside, it's freezing out here.."   
"She'll be here!" The older woman cries out, almost trying to convince herself more than Rosie. 

Sympathetically smiling, Rosie turns around and leaves Stephanie to it. They've worked together for years - she's perfectly aware how stubborn Steph can be. If she's committed to waiting, she'll remain in this very spot until she at least gets an explanation. 

Now Stephanie's alone again, she keeps thinking about Brianna; Despite the icy air, thinking of her almost keeps her warm. Specifically, she thinks back to the conversation they had only a few days ago.. when Brie calmed Stephanie down by talking about them being close.. about them being tangled in one another's arms. Steph closes her eyes and imagines the same scenario; she thinks about being wrapped up in her bed, with the fireplace burning, and Brianna being right next to her, cuddling up with her. 

Part of Steph's mind feels a deep sense of guilt - should she really be imagining something like this with someone who isn't her husband..? In her defence, Paul hasn't given her much of a reason to want him around. Regardless, the moments she was craving to have with Brianna were so intimate, surely it's wrong of her to want them so badly?

Almost annoyingly, Stephanie's thoughts are again put to a stop - she can hear the sound of Rosie's heels coming up behind her. She turns around with every intention of telling her to go away, but sees her holding up the jacket Steph walked in with this morning.

"Since you're so insistent on waiting, at least don't get cold doing it.." Rosie chuckles.   
"Thank you Rosie.." the older woman says sincerely, wrapping herself in the warmth of her coat. "You're probably right though.. If she was coming, she'd be here by now.." 

For whatever reason, Stephanie can feel herself becoming quite teary, but she's able to blink them away. Words can't describe how happy she was for today - it basically pulled her through her crappy weekend of an absent husband and distant daughters. It becomes more apparent to her every day just how much Stephanie relies on Brie, but she was always confident in never being let down.. until right now, that is. 

"Do you mind me asking who you're missing?"   
"Brie Bella.. It's okay, she probably just got her days mixed up - I do that all the time." Steph explains.   
"Brie..? Oh.." Rosie repeats, biting her lip guiltily. Stephanie folds her arms and raises an eyebrow expectantly. "I'd have told you if I knew you were waiting for her.. I was helping Nia with some contracts, and she mentioned that Brie was supposed to be coming today, but she'd phoned her to say she wasn't anymore." 

A sharp sting of betrayal shoots through Stephanie's whole body. She can easily forgive a case of mixed up dates, or even forgetfulness - but this? Besides, it's not even the fact she didn't show up.. it's that she had the curtesy to phone Nia, but not mention a word to Steph herself, or even reply to the text she sent. Of course, Stephanie knows that Brie has other friends at work, but she offered to come for Steph in the first place... she just supposed they were stronger than this. 

"I'm so sorry Ms McMahon, I just wouldn't have guessed you two were friends.."  
"Honestly Rosie, it's not your fault.. Did um.. did Nia mention why Brie wasn't coming?"   
"No, I'm sorry.." Rosie says, noticing the disappointment in her boss's face. "Hey, don't be upset about it.. here's an idea, I'll finish all the paperwork for today, and you can grab Paul and go home early?" She offers. 

Stephanie smiles. At the very least, Rosie of all people seems to somewhat care about her, even if it's on a painfully professional basis. Normally, Steph doesn't mind when her job overtakes the time she has with Paul; after all, it isn't like Paul goes out of his way to make time for her. But maybe Brianna not turning up is the universe's way of telling Stephanie that she needs to put more energy into her marriage? 

Here she is, freezing half to death, thinking so intimately about one of her closest friends. Perhaps it's time to give the same effort to the man she married, the father of her children, the once love of her life. 

"I'll take that offer.. thank you Rosie." Steph smiles.  
"No problem.. besides, it's typical, I go out of my way to get your coat, then you come back inside.." she chuckles. 

With intention, Steph walks down the corridors towards her husband's office; hopefully, he won't put up too much of a fight against coming home early. Although, that's less than likely, given Paul's understandable aversion to paperwork. Plus, even though him and Stephanie have admittedly been drifting, he's still her husband. Perhaps their rings don't mean as much as they used to.. but they have to account for something, right? 

Even from a selfish point of view, it feels like Brianna's completely rejected her in some way.. Stephanie feels lonely, and if throwing herself at Paul helps to remedy that, she's willing to sacrifice some mild self respect.

As she's at the door, the slightly over dressed woman takes a sigh and fixes her hair. With the most seductive looking smile she could muster, she opens the door with a single intention on her brain, but her smirk is soon wiped away once she's greeted with a heart wrenching sight. 

Like a deer in the headlights, Paul frantically retrieves his white shirt from the floor, which was covered in office supplies that had once been on his desk. In place of the post-it notes and staplers, his desk was resting a half dressed blonde receptionist, who's eyes were almost wider with embarrassment than Paul's.

Stephanie completely chokes - she doesn't have it in her to scream at either of them. To be truthful, her mind wasn't surprised by the sight.. it had near damn accepted it. But her heart was another story, and it was shattering into several pieces in this exact moment. 

"Honey..?" Paul says, reaching towards his wife. 

She flinches away from his touch. How dare he call her 'honey' while another woman's bright red lipstick stains are plastered across his face and neck?? She knew this, or something of the like, was happening behind her back.. but seeing it plain as day was killing her. The man she's stayed loyal to for over ten years disregarding her worth so blatantly, for the first pair of legs which would take him.. how could he do this to her?!

Crying openly, Stephanie flees the office and runs towards the women's bathroom, taking refuge in one of the cubicles. Thankfully, no one saw her - she can't deal with the shame of other people knowing what she's just found out, let alone the people who work for her. 

When alone, the crying woman just continues to sob, desperately wailing her heartbreak out of her system. 

Call her stupid, but even though she left her high and dry, even though she made her feel betrayed, there's only one person who Stephanie wants to turn to during a crisis like this. No matter what Brie's reasons are for being a no show, nothing can hurt her more than the past few minutes have. Right now.. all Stephanie wanted, needed was Brianna.. 

Shakily, she takes out her phone and slowly calls Brie, her chest becoming tight from all the crying.

"Hi this is Brie..." Stephanie's breath hitches. "Leave me a message after the beep!" 

"B-Brie..?" Stephanie weeps. "I.. I don't know why you didn't come but.. whatever it is, I don't care.. I just really need you.. I-I found out t-that.. it doesn't matter, just.. just please call me back..? P-Please..?" She weakly begs, breaking down entirely in a fit of tears.


	17. Chapter 17

\- Three Months Later -

******************************************

With her baby bump growing by the day, and her sister being pregnant along side her, Brianna feels as though she should be a lot happier than she is. Looking down at her small bump doesn't feel the same as it did with Birdie; she seemingly can't genuinely smile about this.. Brie loves her baby, of course she does.. but she's doubtful that'll be enough.

At the moment, she's approximately three months into pregnancy - her bump isn't huge, but you can easily tell she's pregnant. Soon enough, her and Nikki will need to announce their news to the masses. Although, Brie would rather hide away and keep it a secret; telling the world is such a huge step, and one she isn't ready for. However, they're in the public eye.. if they don't tell people themselves, the paparazzi will do it for them. 

That's why, in a couple of weeks, her and Nikki will be doing a double maternity photoshoot. Of course, Brianna was over the moon for her sister - she's seen her struggle for years with potentially never being a parent - and now, she gets what she's always wanted. But, if anything, it only makes Brie feel worse. Obviously, she doesn't wish Nicole never fell pregnant or anything, but seeing how happy she is about her baby.. well, it just reminds Brie that she can't bring herself to feel the same.

When she first saw the positive sign on her test, Brianna was completely alone - all by herself in a random gas station bathroom. From that single moment, despite being surrounded by her family, she's felt so lonely.. even with an unborn baby quite literally tied to her, Brianna feels consumed with isolation. Bryan seems to be bouncing off the walls with excitement, as he should be; Birdie is... well, a child; Nicole has her own little one to worry about; her brother is a busy family man, and Stephanie.. Stephanie McMahon. 

Simply thinking of the older woman brings tears to Brie's eyes; she does her best not to think of her, but to rarely works.. to be honest, barely any moments have passed where Stephanie wasn't at the forefront of Brie's complicated mind. No matter how much time has passed without any communication between them, it hasn't become any easier. Only Steph knew how to stop Brianna's loneliness.. and now she's out of her life - most likely forever. 

With that being said, Brie blames no one but herself. Granted, Nikki might have put her in a difficult position all those weeks ago.. but Brianna's a grown woman, she could've kept talking to Stephanie if she'd only been a little stronger. But this is the problem - she isn't strong. She hasn't felt an ounce of strength since.. well, since the last time she was talking to the woman she's so cruelly ghosted. 

Besides the agonising loneliness, Brie's single other emotion has been guilt, because she knows that she's putting Stephanie through the same feeling of isolation. The Monday she intended to visit Raw... near the end of the show - when Brianna was supposed to be wrapped up in Steph's warm arms - she was instead hiding underneath a blanket, weeping at the helpless sounding voicemail she'd been left.

"I..I just really need you.." - That's what Stephanie had said, ever so gloomily.

Brianna's spent hours torturing herself with thoughts on what she could've need her for.. what if she was hurt? Or upset, or scared, or in pain somehow..? What if she was any of those things.. and Brie just completely ignored her..? There were a few texts from Stephanie after that, one or two phone calls.. but after a month, the iPhone notifications ceased to exist, and Brie was left without anyone to turn to, and a half broken heart. 

While there aren't many things Brianna regrets more than revealing her feelings for Steph to Nikki; she still needed to say those words out loud.. it might have cost her the woman she cares so deeply for, but she'd have ended up doing something stupid at Raw, had she have gone. For Christ's sake, there's every chance that Brie would've gotten lost in Stephanie's beauty and tried to kiss her, or something outrageous like that.. after all, how can you stop yourself from acting upon feelings you don't even know are there? Because she only truly knew how strong her feelings were after telling Nicole. 

To be honest, those feelings are still there.. Every time Bryan touches her, his hands feel rough and coarse; Brie desperately misses how gentle Stephanie was, even if it was merely contained to a phone. Granted, Stephanie isn't perfect.. but every one of her imperfections is the reason Brianna has fallen so quickly. Regardless on how much she cares about Steph though.. she's hurt her.. she left her behind, and she kept wearing another man's wedding ring whilst being pregnant with his baby.

Brie and Stephanie weren't meant to be.. but Brianna feels as though she tempted fate for it to be that way - which is exactly why the relentless guilt is overtaking her whole body.

"Brizee..?" Nikki says, clearly cautious.

The younger twin looks up to see her sister in the doorway, holding her own smaller baby bump, with a concerned look on her face. 

"Are you alright..?" 

Only then does Brie notice the tears rolling down her cheeks, and the near painful knot her chest; thinking about what she's done to Stephanie typically has this effect on her, but she normally releases the emotions in the privacy of her own bedroom.. God, these feelings were becoming so intense that she can't even keep them from spilling out anymore.

Kindly, Nicole walks over and sits on the couch, wrapping a protective arm around her sister. 

"You looked like you were having another panic attack..?"   
Brianna forces a chuckle and shakes her head. "God, no.. It's just hormones, don't worry."   
"Brie.. I get pregnancy hormones too now, you know..? I don't get panic attacks.." Nikki says, soothingly stroking her twin's back. "Do you want me to get Bryan?"  
"No!" Brie instinctively shouts. 

As much as it pains her to admit, the last person Brie wants is her husband.. he can't make her smiles, or laugh, or feel protected.. maybe he did once, but she simply can't see him in the same light anymore. If it wasn't for Birdie and their unborn.. she can't say for definite that they'd still be married.

"You're worrying me.." Nikki whispers.  
"Well stop worrying!" Brie snaps, standing up abruptly. "Just.. just stop!" She shouts, practically running away to take refuge in her bedroom. 

And there Nikki sits, stunned with disbelief at what just happened. But most of all, she just feels frightened.. Brianna's clearly been going through a lot lately, and she's even more clearly been bottling it up. As Nikki protectively rubs her bump, she wonders what on earth it will take for her sister to open up; they're twins, they tell one another literally everything.. why is now any different? 

Taking a sigh, the older twin stands up and makes her way back next door to Artem, in hopes of cuddling away the concern.


	18. Chapter 18

Sitting in a huge arm chair, a blanket wrapped around her, and mug of hot chocolate to her side - you'd assume that Stephanie was feeling all warm and cosy... maybe she's physically warm, but her heart still feels freezing. Even now, after it's been over three months, she always finds herself asking the same question over and over: what did she do wrong? 

When Brie didn't turn up to Raw that day.. everything just swerved; like she was in a fast moving car, and there was a sudden crash. Perhaps her not turning up would've been forgivable, if it wasn't for the way she got completely ghosted afterwards. Stephanie just felt so blindsided by it, there was nothing to indicate that Brie was capable of hurting her so deeply.. one day, she was telling Stephanie to imagine they were cuddled up, then she vanished from her life entirely..

After the first month passed, Stephanie had come to accept that Brie was gone - for whatever reason, she'd decided to disappear, and Steph had to get used to that, no matter how much it broke her heart. But then, the second month soon passed too, and Brianna was still lingering around in Stephanie's head; if anything, she was missing her more each day. Now, over three months have gone by since she was cut off, but her heart still ached for the woman who so cruelly dismissed her. 

With the way Brianna treated her, Steph isn't sure why she still pines after her. After what Brie's done, it'd be so much easier to hate her.. but how can she? How could she hate the woman who comforted her when she cried? Who made her feel safe when the world around her was tearing apart at the seams? Who was so beautiful, so sweet, so kind... regardless on what Brie's done, she meant the world to Stephanie at one point - she almost still does - so how on earth could Steph bring herself to despise her? 

Being unable to put the blame on Brie, Stephanie found the villain within herself.. and every single day, she hates herself for doing something so wrong that Brie turned her back on what they had. And she hates herself more for not even knowing what that is. 

Besides Brie not turning up, a mere five minutes later, Stephanie discovered that her worst fears were a reality.. Paul cheating on her with a random blonde receptionist who worked for the venue. So many signs had near confirmed Paul's infidelity to Steph, but until seeing it with her own eyes, she was happy to play blissfully ignorant. But now, she has seen it.. and every time she looked at him, all she could see is him on top of another woman. 

Not long after that day, Paul moved out of their house and into an apartment he was able to find. Aurora and Murphy weren't too happy when they were told about the divorce, but that's to be expected; their whole family life had been flipped upside down. Stephanie might have seen the signs of Paul's unfaithfulness, but his children obviously didn't, so it came completely out of now where for them. They know about the divorce, but still don't know about their dad cheating - he might've been a terrible husband, but he's always been an amazing dad - he doesn't deserve for his own daughters to hate him for it. 

Right now, both Murphy and Aurora were at his apartment - while it makes Stephanie sick to even look at him, they were somehow able to work out an agreement on custody. Their actual divorce hasn't gone through yet legally, but they separated almost straight away. Paul attempted to apologise; claim it was the worst mistake of his life; that he'd never so much as look at another woman again. Wether he was telling the truth or not, Stephanie wasn't sure - but she doesn't care to put herself through the trauma of finding out. 

At the moment, Stephanie was nearly shaking with anxiety; being entirely alone in a family house made for four left her incredibly on edge. The feeling of isolation was creeping through her veins, and she desperately needs someone to stay with her.

Frantically, she grabs her phone and scrolls through her contacts. Calling her parents doesn't seem like a very good idea, she'll only get a lecture on how divorcing Paul is the wrong thing to do; phoning Paul himself is quite clearly out of the question; her daughters would probably already be in bed, even though they probably wouldn't want to hear from their mum anyway, and Brianna is... well, Steph might want her voice to fill the silence, but that's obviously not happening.

Eventually, she presses the contact 'Shane' - hopefully he's up for a chat. 

"Steph?" He answers, his voice sounding tired.   
"Hey Shane.. um, are you free at the moment..?"  
"I guess I've got a few minutes, what do you want?" 

Sensing the mild annoyance in his voice, Stephanie instantly chooses to keep this talk short and sweet; he's clearly not up to a long, emotional, heart spill.. but considering it's not far off midnight, that would make sense. 

"I uh.. I've just not seen you in a while, are you doing okay..?" She asks timidly.   
"You phoned me at ten to midnight to ask me how I'm doing?" Shane replies, yawning loudly. "I don't buy it.. Don't you have that Bella girl to have these chats with? Or did you kick her out as quick as you did Paul?" 

Steph lets out an audible whimper; hearing him refer to Brie made her shiver, she just wasn't prepared to hear something like that. Especially the jab about Paul. Just like her daughters - neither Shane or her parents know about Paul's infidelity - they were told that the couple had an argument, then decided to split up. Given that they're in the public eye, the fewer people who know, the better, and the lesser chance it'll end up in a gossip magazine.

"Shane.. I.. I just wanted to say hi.."   
"Well you've said it now, can I go to bed?" He shoots, his fuse becoming short.   
"Wait.. I.. I-I.. please don't go yet.. I'm scared.." Stephanie admits quietly.   
"Scared?" Shane half mocks. "Scared of what?" 

Secretly, Stephanie was afraid of herself. When she's completely alone, with absolutely no one to convince her otherwise.. she's petrified of what she might end up doing to herself. What if.. what if she does something that can't be reversed..? But Shane can't know that.. no one can. The shame might be what pushes her over the edge, if she isn't already there. 

"It's.. It's just a really big house. Too big, with just me in it.. it freaks me out.."   
"For Christ's sake Steph, you're 42 years old. Grow up." Shane says abruptly.   
"Wait.. wait - h-how about we meet up soon..?" She asks, painfully realising that her brother had hung up on her. 

Slowly putting her phone away, Stephanie decides to protect herself from herself, curling further into the blanket, restricting her own movement so that she could barely leave the armchair. If she was to let herself roam this enormous house freely.. Lord knows what she'd do.

Resting her head against the back of her seat, tears start forming in Stephanie's eyes. If the rest of her life is destined to be as painful as these past three months.. she isn't sold on sticking around to experience it. 

As embarrassing as it is, the one person she wants is the one person she can never have.. and it's shattered her. 

It's shattered her into thousands of pieces, potentially beyond repair.


	19. Chapter 19

Cuddling into Artem's side while watching a random Netflix show was normally a happy way to spend a Saturday afternoon, but Nikki has other things on her mind - things that are more important than a fictional horror. 

For the past few months, Nikki's twin senses have been going off, even if sh isn't sure why. At first, she put it down to their pregnancies; after all, twins being pregnant at the same time is bound to make them feel a little more connected. But whatever this feeling is, it just can't be their babies - this feeling was negative... it makes Nicole feel uneasy, and almost alarmed. It was like Brie needed help, and it feels awful. 

Sometimes, when Nikki's trying to sleep, she's kept awake by the idea of Brianna needing her. While she's lying in her bed at night, there's this rush which goes through her, and it makes her want to desperately cry,mor even sob.. but she's perfectly happy? Nicole's never been smilier, so why would she want to cry..? And this is where her twin senses play a part.. Nikki doesn't want to cry; it's that she has a sort've instinct that her sister is weeping painfully.

Once Nicole realised what these inclinations were insinuating, she began paying incredibly close attention to Brianna; she would take note of the all the little things.. how Brie's voice sounded, how much she was eating, if she was still doing the things she once did for fun. 

Since being more attentive, Nikki's noticed so many changes in Brie's personality - and not good ones. Her voice was seemingly becoming more monotoned; her meal portions were becoming smaller, and she's practically given up all hobbies. But most scary of all..? Brie's panic attacks. Both Brie and Nikki suffered with them as children, but Brianna's are quite clearly resurfacing, and it was worrying Nikki terribly. But she can't help her sister when she refuses to directly say what's wrong. Hell, she won't even admit to their being a problem in the first place.. 

Yes, they're sisters, and they'll bicker until the sun goes down - but they adore each other, and they tell one another absolutely everything. So now that Brie isn't actively telling Nikki there's something upsetting her.. Nikki can still feel it. And it's leaving the older twin with a really annoying headache. 

"Oh, please don't go in that room.." Artem says, then he flinches. "Well, I did tell her not to.." he chuckles.

When Nicole doesn't react whatsoever to the on screen stabbing, he looks down at his fiancé, checking that she's alright. Clearly, she's off in her own world - her arms were wrapped protectively around her small baby bump, and her eyes were entirely spaced out. She didn't look sad.. just distant.

"Nicole?" He says, snapping her out of her trance.   
"Oh.. sorry Artem.. I just don't really want to pay attention to a screen right now.."

Artem picks up the TV remote, switching their show off; he might've been invested in the stupid killer monster, but Nikki's tone was fairly serious, so he'll happily wait until later to find out who's underneath the mask. He allows her to sit up, and he kisses her temple before taking her hand. 

"I'm really worried about Brie.." she reveals.   
"Why..? What has she said..?"  
"That's just it.. she hasn't said anything, but I just know there's something wrong.." Nikki explains. "Every time I try and ask her about it, she just gets really snappy.. like she's hiding something from me." 

This wouldn't be the first conversation Artem and Nicole have shared about Brianna; being both Nikki's sister and their next door neighbour, she naturally comes up when they're talking.. but Artem could tell this was alot more serious. Nicole wasn't just slightly concerned, she's obviously scared.

"Mommy cries a lot." A small voice says from across the room.

Turning around, the couple are stunned to see a little Birdie stood in front of them. Bryan was out for the day, but Brianna was home - she wouldn't normally let Birdie come to her Auntie's house alone. But forgetting why she's here for a moment, what the young girl actually said was both shocking and heartbreaking. 

"Wh-what do you mean Bird?" Nicole asks, reaching her arms out.  
Birdie toddles over to her Aunt, allowing herself to be lifted her onto her knee. "When I'm playing with daddy.. or when I go to bed. I hear mommy crying in her bedroom."

Both Artem and Nikki look towards one another with concerned eyes - Nicole's instincts were spot on. Poor Birdie.. hearing her mother crying so often must be incredibly upsetting for her. But as much concern Nicole has for Birdie, her concern for Brianna has shot through the roof. She was right about her needing help.. if only she knew why.

"Birdie, do you know why your mommy cries so much..?" Artem asks, sweetly taking the young girls hands.  
She shakes her head. "I cry when I'm sad, so I think Mommy is sad too.." 

Hugging her niece a little tighter, Nikki racks her brains for anything which could be making her sister cry all the time. But no matter what, she can't seem to find an answer. They're both pregnant; this should be the happiest time of their lives, with absolutely nothing bringing them down. Nikki half feels guilty.. here she is, happier than ever, while her own sister is miserable.. and she doesn't even know why. To be truthful, she also feels hurt; why on earth would Brie hide anything from her twin? 

"Bird, why don't you play with A for a bit? I'll go check on your mom.." She suggests. 

Artem smiles as his fiancé places Birdie into his lap. Lifting Bird up and twirling her around, the pair begin to play a dancing game while Nikki makes her way next door. If what Birdie said is anything to go by, she prepares herself to walk in on Brie sobbing. It'll break her heart to hear something like that.. but if it's true, she needs to know. 

When she reaches the front door, Nikki suddenly comes to a holt. She wonders if it's her mind playing tricks on her - but it feels incredibly real - Brie's crying so uncontrollably that Nikki can hear it from out here. It doesn't even sound like she's crying, it seems as though she's.. well, in pain? Like she's wincing, in absolute agony. 

The moment this gut wrenching noise hits Nicole's ears, she breaks down too. Maybe hormones played a contribution, but hearing her own sister cry so desperately hurt her so deeply; yes, she prepared herself to hear this, but not in such a brutal way. This was her flesh and blood, and she doesn't have the first clue as to why she's so upset. Of course Nikki's going to be crushed by something like that.. 

"Nicole..?" A voice says from behind her. 

She turns around to see a concerned looking Bryan, holding a grocery bag. Without thinking, Nikki throws her arms around him and cries onto his shoulder. If she's as devastated as this, how's Bryan going to feel about everything??

"It's Brie.." Nikki weeps.   
"Brie? What about her? Is she okay? Where's Birdie?" Bryan flusters, dropping the groceries and hugging his sister in law.   
"Birdie's with Artem.. you need to talk to her Bryan.. She needs help.." 

Helplessly, Nikki clings to Bryan, while he tries to take in what she's saying. Brie was perfectly fine when he left this morning? But he can't just dismiss what Nikki's claiming, he obviously needs to keep an extra eye on his wife.. but for now, his main focus is calming Nicole down. 

Hopefully, when she's a little more together, they can talk more about whatever's wrong with Brianna..

And they can work out a plan to get her better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing Birdie in this chapter near broke my heart oooops :(


	20. Chapter 20

Posing in front of a camera has become second nature to Brie over the years - endless photoshoots for WWE left her completely comfortable in front of a camera. Although, today feels different; she just can't get into the motion of it, and every single pose feels unnatural. 

Her and Nikki are finally going to reveal their joint pregnancy to the world, using the pictures taken today. Bryan and Artem were behind the camera, watching on with huge grins. As always, Nikki was absolutely thriving under the camera's attention. But no matter what smile Brianna plasters on; no matter the pose she does; no matter what direction their photographer gives her, she just can't get it to feel right. 

To be truthful, hardly any of her pregnancy has felt right, whatever 'right' even is. When she was pregnant with Birdie, she woke up everyday with the biggest grin possible; she couldn't have been happier about being a mom.. but with this little one? She loves this baby the same way she loved Birdie.. but for whatever reason, that just doesn't make her happy. Being a mom again terrifies her, and she isn't sure she'll get over that fear.

"Do you two want to take a lunch break?" The photographer asks. 

After some agreeing nods, the twins walk to the corner of the room and sit down; they'd brought their own lunch, so there was no need to go out. Artem and Bryan stay talking to each other, something Nikki's grateful for - she wants to have a conversation with Brie, and it's probably best done in private. 

All of Brie's small snaps, her seeming anxiety attacks.. a few days ago, when Nikki heard her crying through the front door - it's all leading to something horrible. Nikki isn't sure what the right thing to say is, but of she leaves it too late, it could all become too much to manage. If anything happened to Brie, Nicole would never forgive herself - especially if she never even tried to make sense of it. 

Looking up at her sister now, Brianna looks completely fine; their hair and makeup team have done a beautiful job. But Nikki can sense that Brie's on edge, she can see it in here eyes. This whole situation was breaking her heart, why can't Brie just open up to her?? Of course, she doesn't resent her for keeping quiet - she just wishes that Brie didn't feel as though she had to. After all, if Brianna was keeping her troubles away from Nikki.. it's more than likely that she's bottling it up, away from absolutely everyone. And that's never healthy. 

"Brianna..?" Nikki says softly, careful not to startle her.   
"Yeah?"   
"Do you.. do you want to talk..? About anything? I just.. I feel like you're distancing from me? And well.. we're both pregnant. I thought that we'd be closer than ever, but you seem.. I don't know. Like you're shutting yourself away?" She opens the conversation. 

Simply with the way Brie looks, Nicole can tell that she's struck a nerve. Part of her feels somewhat bad for making her upset, but if it gets her to open up, she honestly doesn't care. This is her sister, and she'll do anything to bring her back to her old, happy self. 

"I'm fine." Brie finally replies bluntly.   
"I know that's not true.. Brie, you're my sister, whatever's going on, you can tell me.."  
"I said I'm fine! This is exactly why I distance from you, because you're so goddam nosey!" She snaps, standing up and storming into the bathroom.

Nikki takes a deep sigh. "Well that went well.." she whispers to herself. 

Even though she'd be within her rights to take offence at Brie's comments, she can't find it within herself to hold it against her. If anything, her outburst only proves to Nicole just how much help Brie might need. This person Brianna's turned into isn't Nikki's sister; she's somebody entirely, and she won't stop until the Brie she loves so much is back again. 

Noticing his fiancé looking upset, Artem walks over and sits opposite Nikki, in the seat Brie was just sitting in. He knew that Nicole was going to have a talk with Brie - and by the looks of it - that talk didn't go as planned. Since being with Nikki, Artem has developed a close relationship Brianna, so he definitely shares the same concerns. Plus, he knows just how inseparable the twins are; if Brie was hiding away from Nikki, of all people, then there's no doubting that something is seriously wrong. 

"She'll be okay, you know..?" Artem says reassuringly, resting his hand on Nikki's leg.   
"I'm not sure, Artem.. I've never seen her like this before.." she replies nervously. "We've never kept secrets from each other, this isn't Brie!" 

Suddenly, Artem pulls Nikki into a tight hug; there's honestly nothing worse than seeing his fiancé sad. But even worse? There's nothing he can realistically do about it. Nikki probably won't feel better until Brie's feeling happier, and it's not really Artem's place to get involved with Brie's personal life. 

"Do you know what you're going to do?" He asks, pulling back from their hug and taking her hand.  
"I.. I think I'm gonna take her to see Stephanie.." Nikki reveals, clearly unsure on what she's saying.  
Artem raises an eyebrow. "I thought Brie and Stephanie stopped talking..?" 

Her eyes fluttering downwards, a surge of guilt surges through Nicole's body. She knows exactly why Brie and Stephanie stopped talking - because she told them to. Brianna explained that her feelings for Steph were no more than a friend crush, and Nikki has always believed that.. but regardless, they needed to distance from each other, to give Brie the space she needed to get over it. Now, Nikki has every confidence that her sister is over it. But they never seemed to get back in contact..

Despite knowing that they needed the time away from one another, Nikki had to admit that Brie's mental health has seemingly become worse since she hasn't had Stephanie in her life. Although it kills Nikki to think that Brianna would rather seek comfort in Stephanie McMahon than her own sister... it's better than the alternative, of Brie having no one at all. 

Plus, after reading the text messages between the two, Nicole should've known that telling Brie to stay away from Steoh wouldn't do her any good; Stephanie was her rock at one point, and Nicole despises herself for being the one who took that away. But seeing what Brie's become.. it's shocked Nikki into realising what she has to do. If she was going to make this right, she'll have to hope that it's not too late to reunite them.

"Besides, I thought you hated Stephanie..?" Artem adds, still mildly confused.   
"I don't hate her.." Nicole replies sheepishly. "But even if I did.. Brie definitely doesn't.." she sniffles.   
"If you think it'll help, you know that you have my support.. Bryan on the other hand, might not be too happy.."   
"Yeah well, screw what Bryan thinks." Nikki shoots, rather bluntly. "I'll talk to him about it, it'll be easier if he's on board.. but wether he likes it or not, my sister's health comes first.." 

Artem smiles, he's always admired how protective of her family Nikki is; it's a quality which he knows will make her the most perfect mother. 

Resting a hand on her bump, Nikki's mind begins to spin, thinking of ways she can tell Bryan of her plan. But more importantly, her mind was racing with ideas on how to tell Brianna...


	21. Chapter 21

Working for WWE has always been Stephanie's escape - when real life became too much, she could lose herself in the performative world of promos and bodyslams. But today? Walking through the halls, she doesn't feel happy.. she just feels alone. 

As she's walking to her office, she can't see the amazingness and wonder that she used to.. all she can see is the room where Paul fucked another woman; the doors she waiting hours by, in hopes of seeing Brie again; the several superstars she's stupidly made an enemy out of over the years.. Until recently, Stephanie never noticed how no one smiles at her when she walks through the corridors - but now, it's all she pays attention to. Literally no one stops her to say hello, or waves at her, or has anything kind to say - she's just alone. 

"Stephanie.." someone breaks the silence, catching her attention. 

Turning around, Steph's eyes light up at seeing her big brother standing before her; granted, their last conversation wasn't too kind, but she hadn't seen him in person for weeks, and she's in desperate need of a familiar face. 

Smiling widely, the young woman throws her arms around Shane, forgetting their professional environment. To be honest, she doesn't care if it came across as childish, Stephanie's in pieces, and she'd love nothing more than a hug from her older brother. Although, Shane almost instantly pushes her off him, and Steph's eyes flicker to the floor with disappointment. 

"Hey, what's that for..?" He scoffs.   
"I..I'm sorry.. I just- I thought that... it doesn't matter.."   
"Right.. look, I only wanted to let you know that the meeting at 3 got cancelled - Dad accidentally double booked himself, so one one of them had to give." Shane explains.   
"Oh.. okay, thank you.." 

Stephanie honestly can't care less about the meeting being cancelled - if anything, it's a relief. However, what does upset her is quite how painfully professional Shane is with her. They're family, yet she can't sense it; right now, Stephanie feels as connected with Shane as she does with her bloody secretary. 

Looking at him, she attempts to remember when they were kids, when they were inseparable, and their biggest conflict was over which wrestler had the best submission hold. Maybe the don't have any conflict at all anymore, but that's only because they talk so little, there's no time for disagreements. Steph's lost Paul, Brie, she's slowly losing her daughters, and now she's realising that she's also lost Shane.. and it's simply so crushing. 

"By the way, what do you think of the Bellas?" Shane asks, smirking.   
"Wha-what about them..?" Steph replies, her heart twisting slightly.   
Her older brother chuckles to himself. "Check your twitter." He winks before walking off. 

Instantly, Stephanie's protective side kicks in; maybe it isn't her place to feel protective over Brie anymore, but she can't help herself. The way Shane said it.. he could easily be teasing her, but Steph got the impression that it was something huge. Knowing Shane though, he's probably just overselling the announcement of a new BirdieBee collection. Although, it doesn't stop her from fearing the worst. 

Hurrying into her office, Stephanie frantically turns on her computer monitor. Even though it takes roughly 10 seconds to load, it feels about 10 years. Shane must've found this big enough news to bring up.. whatever it is, Steph simply needs to know; Even though Brie isn't in her life anymore, Stephanie's mind still associates her with someone she cares about. 

Once the computer screen finally turns on, Steph pulls up google and types in 'The Bella Twins'. 

Straight away, her eyes are greeted with a picture of both Brie and Nikki, holding up a pair of baby clothes. After glancing at the headline, Stephanie quickly realises that both of the twins are pregnant. 

A tear slowly rolls down her cheek; Steph feels as though she has no right to be sad about this. After all, her and Brie don't talk anymore, but for whatever reason, this news only makes Stephanie feel even more betrayed. Both twins in that photo.. they look so happy, and so they should.. but it just reminds Steph of how unhappy she is within her own life.

Judging by how far into pregnancy she is, Brie most likely knew about her pregnancy while they were still close friends - yet she never mentioned anything? It makes Stephanie feel like their friendship meant nothing. If Brianna could turn to Steph in moments of crisis and breakdowns, why couldn't she tell her about the baby? Perhaps the moments of comfort they gave one another wasn't as powerful as Stephanie believed them to be..? 

Brie knowing she was pregnant while they were still talking almost made the whole situation harder to accept. Chances are, when Brianna was telling her to imagine them snuggled up under a warm blanket, she knew that nine months later, she'd have a baby. 

The reason that upsets her so much.. well, the idea of Brie unexpectedly finding out about a pregnancy, then freaking out and ghosting people was somewhat understandable.. it wouldn't make it right, but Stephanie could wrap her head around it. But if Brie already knew, Stephanie being cut off can't have been for that reason. Brianna really did just decide not to turn up one day, and that still hurts, even now. 

Stephanie covers her face with her hands as she starts to weep. This was confirmation that Brie was gone from her life, and she'd never come back.. call her stupid, but even though she's accepted Brie's departure, she's still been holding onto some form of hope that she'd return, and things would somehow go back to how they were. But she'll have to let that hope go now, and it killed her. 

Wether she likes it or not, Steph could've loved Brianna if she'd let herself.. and although she knows that Brie has her own family, who she undoubtably loves - Stephanie's heart cruelly allowed her to believe in the possibility that they could someday be something. Maybe that's her own fault? But you want something so desperately, it's easy to ignore any logic.

But if logic wasn't a factor.. if her heart's wishes could come true in an instant, she'd wish for the scenario which Brie herself put forward; she'd wish for the chance to lay in a warm, comfortable bed, with Brianna lying closely next to her, cuddling her sweetly and delicately stroking her hair.. if Stephanie could have that, even just once, she'd hold onto it forever. 

No matter how much she wishes though, that will clearly never happen. And Stephanie's coming to the realisation that she'll have to let all of that hope go.. Brianna's gone, and she can't change that. Soon enough, Stephanie's heart will have to come to terms with it, just like her mind already has. But for now, that realisation is saddening and hurtful.. and all Stephanie can seem to do is cry.


	22. Chapter 22

"You aren't serious..? Nicole, trust me, it's a good thing that Brie hasn't talked to that woman in so long.." Bryan dismisses, flicking through his book. 

Nikki's face drops - she was at least hoping for a better reaction than that.

After discovering quite how badly Brie's been suffering lately, Nikki reluctantly decided on taking her sister to Raw, so she can see Stephanie again; she knew how deeply Brie and Stephanie's bond ran, and she's honestly struggling to forgive herself for breaking that apart. Once she'd truly thought about it, Nicole realised that Brie's mental health has been on the rocks for ages, and it only got worse once Steph was gone. 

To be completely honest, Nikki still isn't sure why Brianna found so much comfort in a woman she used to despise.. but regardless on the reason, Stephanie's friendship made her sister happy, and Nikki's willing to do all she can to repair what she broke. Bryan, on the other hand.. well, he's obviously not in favour. While she can understand his caution, Brie's turmoil can't be denied, and they have to be up for trying anything. 

"Look.. I'm the one who told Brie to stop contacting Stephanie.. and I know you probably think I was right but-" Nikki begins.  
"What do you mean think?" Bryan interrupts. "Nicole, I know that you made the right decision there.. that woman doesn't deserve to be in my wife's life.."  
"She has a name, you know?" She responds, noticing how Bryan refuses to say Stephanie's name. 

Bryan tuts, gazing back into his book. He truly has no interest in hearing this. Despite Brie, and now seemingly Nikki, moving on from all of Stephanie's wrongdoings - he hasn't, and potentially never will. Besides, part of him is too proud to ever admit that he's wrong about a person, and he'll refuse to entertain the idea of Stephanie being kind until the sun goes down. 

"What I'm trying to say.. I really regret telling Brie to stay away.. and I want to fix it." Nikki explains.   
"What's to fix? Brianna is much better off without her.. we should be celebrating that they've stopped talking."   
"For God's sake Bryan, open your eyes! Brie's miserable!" She loses her patience, hunching over and resting her head in her hands, welling up slightly. "And wether you like it or not, Stephanie made her happy.." 

Nicole's tolerance for Bryan was quickly wearing thin. Brie was his wife, and she wishes that he would take this more seriously. It almost feels like he's denying that Brianna's even sad, but any fool could see it; she's always hiding away in her bedroom, or having anxiety attacks, or crying.. Bryan should be the one who cares the most, but he won't even give Nikki's idea a second thought. 

Stephanie did some hurtful things to Bryan, so Nicole can somewhat grasp why he's so against Brie seeing her under normal circumstance, but Brie's sadness wasn't 'normal'. When Nikki told her to stop contacting Steph, it was because she thought that Stephanie was the cause of her misery.. looking back, she was actually the only reason Brie was coping; without Steph, she was falling apart.. and Bryan needs to get his head out of the sand before it's too late.

Slightly taken aback by Nicole's aggression, Bryan sits back and sighs with defeat. "If you're so insistent, I guess I can't stop you.. but don't blame me when it goes wrong."  
"When what goes wrong?" Brie's voice calls from the other side of the room. 

Looking over and smiling warmly, Nikki notices how Brianna's eyes were red and puffy - she'd obviously been crying again, but she wouldn't want to draw any attention to it. Cradling her small baby bump, Brie walks over to her family and sits on the sofa with them. 

"I'll leave you two to it.." Bryan says, obviously frustrated, walking away into Birdie's room.   
"What's his deal..?" Brie questions. "Actually, I don't care.. Nikki, I need to apologise to you.." she says, seeming quite serious. 

Nikki's face scrunches up with confusion - Brie has quite literally nothing to apologise for? Not that she knows of anyway. But at the least, the twins being alone is a good thing; it gives Nikki a chance mto mention visiting Stephanie, without Bryan's judgment. Hopefully, Brie isn't too against the idea herself..

"I didn't mean to snap at you at the photoshoot.." Brie says. "It was just a bad day, I was having morning sickness, my hormones were everywhere and I took it out on you, I'm so sorry.."  
"Hey.. Brizee, it's okay, I understand the hormones thing, trust me.." Her twin chuckles, rubbing her bump. "How are you doing..?" She asks. 

And with that one question, Nikki can vividly see her sister shut down; her eyes flicker downwards and she hunches her shoulders inwards, clear signs that she was going to avoid the question entirely. For months, Brie's been doing this - hiding away from comments of concern, or simply refusing to speak at times. It's terrifying to see, especially while she's carrying a little one, and it's the exact reason Nikki wants to do something about it straight away. 

"Fine.." Brianna brushes off.   
"Are you sure..?" Nikki pushes, only getting a nod in response. "Um.. I know this is kind've out of nowhere but.. I was thinking about going to Raw next week? I wanted to see Nia and the girls before I give birth.." She sets up. "And I wanted to know if.. if you would come with me?" 

Looking up curiously, Brie instantly knows that there's more to come. If it really was just an invitation, Nikki wouldn't be making it out to be a big deal - so what's going on? Regardless, Brianna isn't sold on the idea as it is.. Raw holds quite alot of painful memories for her now, and she isn't sure about reliving them. 

"I.. I'm not sure Nikki.. Just FaceTime me when you're with everyone, yeah?" Brie fakes a smile.   
"Brie.. listen, I.. I really want you to come with me.." Nicole pleads. "I think that.. while I'm with Nia, you should go and see Stephanie.." 

Her breath hitching and heart beginning to race, Brianna can feel herself slipping into another anxiety attack; simply hearing Nikki say Stephanie's name after all these months was enough to tip her over the edge. Why now?? More questionably, why Nikki?? She's the one who told her to stay away in the first place! 

While seeing Stephanie again is all Brie's wanted from the moment they stopped talking, she wants that to happen within a fantasy world, not their own: a world where Stephanie would welcome her back with open arms, but what's the likelihood of that in reality? Stephanie was cruelly left waiting for someone who never turned up, only to be completely ghosted afterwards.. Brie just can't face having Stephanie, knowing that she's the one who hurt her that way.

"Hey, don't look so scared.. " Nikki comforts her.   
"I can't do it.. please don't make me do it - she'll hate me!" Brie tears up. 

Sighing deeply, Nicole wraps her arms around her twin, stroking her back protectively. This isn't the reaction she was hoping for, but she half expected it to a degree.

"I'm not gonna force you into anything Brizee.. But I'm your sister, I know that something is wrong with you.. I mean, look at you.." Nicole says, gripping her twin slightly tighter. "But I also know that Stephanie made you happy.. and I miss seeing you happy.."   
"It's not that I don't miss her, of course I do.. I miss her everyday.." Brie whispers.   
"Then why don't you want to see her..?"  
"Because I don't think she'll want to see me.. she needed me that day, Nicole.. when I stopped talking to her, she needed me, and I let her down.." 

Nikki begins to well up herself - seeing Brianna so vulnerable obviously has a part to play, but it was mainly regret. To an extent, Nikki caused this.. she doesn't know what Stephanie needed Brie for, but without Nicole's input, she could've been there..

"Brie, if you really don't want to go, you don't have to.. but if you miss her this much, and she's clearly important to you.. I think it's worth a shot.." Nicole pleads her case.  
"I.. I don't know.. I don't want her to think I don't care about her.."   
"Then tell her you care.. please, Brie.. I just want to see you smile again.." 

Wiping her eyes, Brianna reluctantly nods her head in agreement - this isn't how she imagined their reunion would present itself.. but at least it's happening at all. Her head can't stop telling her to stay away, that Stephanie's a closed chapter in her life, but her heart wants nothing more than to hug her and tell her how sorry she is..

To be perfectly honest, there are so many things Brizee wants from Steph.. for too long, she's been separated from the one person who made her feel safe, and it's left her feeling completely isolated and exhausted. Deep down, she knew that Stephanie would be hurting equally as much, and she just needs to make that right. Without Stephanie, she just feels hollow.. and if Nikki will be there to hold her hand, maybe she can finally get her smile back. 

"Okay.. Okay, I'll go see her.." Brianna agrees, shaking with nerves as she clings to her sister.


	23. Chapter 23

Her stomach knotting with fear, Brie walks up to the venue Raw was being held in, with Nicole by her side. Being completely truthful, part of her wants to turn around and never come back - and if it wasn't for having Nikki encouraging her - she probably would.

Looking around the large halls, the young woman can't help but feel guilty; this is where she should've been months ago, where she should've visited Stephanie and been there for her like she promised. Hopefully, today will put that mistake to rights, but Brie is literally petrified at the thought of seeing her again. Of course, she's wanted nothing more than to spend time with her again for what feels like forever.. but she's scared at the thought of being rejected. 

If Brianna is honest with herself, she knows that all of this is of her own creation.. if she'd only turned up that day, perhaps all of this turmoil could've been avoided. But that's why she's here now - to face the music and apologise. Originally, Brie was going to text Stephanie, to say she'd be coming today, but she eventually decided against it. After all, it would only give Steph an extra chance to tell her not to bother; if she's physically there, they'll have to at least talk, even if it's a difficult conversation to have.

"I'll be with Nia, okay..? Come and get me if you need to.." Nikki sweetly instructs, resting her hand on Brizee's arm.

Too overcome with nerves to say anything, Brianna nods her head silently, doing her best to keep the tears behind her eyes. She knows that Nikki wouldn't judge her for welling up - in fairness, she's the only person who seems to understand how important Stephanie is to her - but Brie also knows that it'd only make her worry even more.

Keeping her head down, Brie quietly makes her way to Stephanie's office, the route being etched into her mind. Despite having her eyes on the floor, she catches glimpses of people walking past her - most likely other superstars. It's not that she doesn't want to look up and say hello, these people are her friends, but she's arrived with an agenda, and she can't risk anything putting her off. With how fragile Brianna is, it probably won't take much to throw her entirely off balance. 

Eventually, she reaches the hall with the door to Steph's office. Brianna's heart was pounding through her chest, and she felt like dashing into the toilets and throwing up, or simply leaving the building all together. If anyone saw her, they'd probably be perplexed; it must've looked incredibly odd to see a woman so anxious and apprehensive to knock on a door. Then again, being nervous to enter the CBO's office is a feeling that many superstars have become acquainted with over the years. 

Brie takes a deep breath, preparing herself for every possibility that could possibly play out in the next hour. In a perfect world, she'd be welcomed back with open arms, and no questions asked.. but with the likelihood of that being close to zero, it's better to be ready for all the other responses. As long as Stephanie is a part of her life again.. Brie will be okay. Because that's all she really needs.

Before she could freak herself out of doing it, the nervous woman swiftly knocks on the door, then completely freezes as she awaits an answer. A surge of fear runs through her as the moments passing by start feeling like years. 

"Come in.." a bitter-sweetly familiar voice calls out. 

Hearing Stephanie's voice again sends shivers down Brie's spine. This isn't a dream, Steph really is behind that door, and they'll really be reunited in a matter of seconds. After attempts to compose herself with more deep breaths and patting down her outfits, Brianna finally musters up a little courage and pushes the door open.

Slowly, the older woman's eyes flicker from the paperwork on her desk up to Brianna, and their wide eyes instantly lock in a double state of shock. 

Silence. 

Suddenly, the speech Brie had stored in her mind vanished, and she becomes so emotional that talking feels unfathomable. In their shared silence, Brie takes note of Stephanie's appearance - she's clearly exhausted, and it seems as though she's lost a little weight, but to Brianna, she looks just as beautiful as always. Potentially nothing in the world could stop Stephanie from appearing perfect in Brianna's eyes. 

Although this wasn't the predicted reaction, and the nerves are still rampant, the younger woman can't help but smile softly at the sight of Steph. She can't deny the fact that Stephanie simply makes her happy.. even if the circumstances are less than ideal. 

"Hi.." Brie says quietly, the gentlest sparkle in her eyes. "I've missed you.." 

In a split second, Stephanie's shocked eyes narrow, and her nostrils flair. Without a warning, she stands up abruptly and slams her hand on the desk. 

"Get out!" She shouts. 

Brie steps back, her heart feeling like someone's just stabbed her in the chest. The sweet smile on her lips dropped away, and she felt a tear roll down her face. This is exactly what she was scared of happening.. she's thought about this moment for so long, and she's feared that Stephanie would shout at her.. but thinking about it and hearing it are two different kinds of pain - the latter being much more gut wrenching. 

"I mean it. Get out." Stephanie repeats.   
"Steph.." Brie whispers, resting her hands on her baby bump.  
"Stop! Don't say my name, don't say anything! Just get out!!" She close to screams. 

As Stephanie runs her fingers through her hair, she too begins welling up, silent tears falling from her eyes. She looks down, not feeling courageous enough to look Brie in the eye.

Apprehensively, Brianna walks towards Stephanie. Yes, she's falling to pieces.. but she's also determined. She can't just leave this office knowing that Steph wants her gone forever. Cautiously, she lifts up her hand and delicately wipes a tear off the older woman's cheek, looking at her with hopeful eyes; Stephanie shudders at her touch, but not in an angry way. 

When Steph looks back up, the look in her eye near breaks Brie's spirit.. she's never seen anyone look so somber before. 

"How could you do this to me Brie..?" she asks, but quietly this time, beginning to sob. 

As Stephanie breaks down into tears, Brie's crying also becomes more forceful. All of the guilt returns, and she hates herself all over again for ghosting the most amazing woman she's ever known. The easy thing would be to blame Nicole, but Brie can't bring herself to do that - not when Nikki convinced her to come today. 

"I needed you more than ever.." Stephanie weeps.  
"Oh Steph.." Brie cries too, leaving her hand on the Brunette's cheek and cupping her face.  
"No!" She emotionally protests, shaking Brie off her.

Stephanie slams both her hands against the desk again and paces towards the other side of the room - resting her weight against the windowsill, her back to Brianna. Honestly, she didn't have the strength to look at her.. not when it hurts so much. Looking at Brie genuinely feels like she's being betrayed again, and she can't hack it.

"Please just let me explain.." Brie pleads from across the room.  
"Why should I?? Hell, maybe I should explain to you!" Stephanie turns back around, shouting in an emotional frenzy. "After you decided not to show up, I went into Paul's office and caught him screwing some receptionist red handed! And rather than wanting my mother, or any of my family, the one person I wanted was you!" 

Brie's remains guiltily quiet as her face becomes even more wet from crying. Paul cheated on her..? Deep down, she doesn't blame Stephanie for reacting so angrily.. in fact, she completely understands it. But that doesn't make it hurt any less; if anything, it makes everything hurt a whole lot worse.

"I missed you every day.." she manages to say, desperately wishing for even a hint of forgiveness.   
"How can you say that? You missed me?! I kept calling you, texting you, everything! You're the one who blanked me! And now, you just turn up out of the blue and expect everything to be like it was?!"

Sobbing intensely, Stephanie falls back down into her office chair and hides her face in her hands. This almost feels like some kind of humiliation; her heart was only just starting to accept Brie's absence, and now she's here again, conjuring up all of the old feelings. Angry doesn't even begin to describe it..

"You know.. for the first time in years, you made me feel like I actually mattered.." Stephanie sniffles before letting out a heartbreaking chuckle. "How stupid could I be..?" 

Brie's entire body tenses up, and she looks at the woman before with more sadness than she's ever experienced before. Stephanie crying so depressingly was enough to break her.. but knowing that's Steph's sadness is mostly her own fault is the worst feeling imaginable. Brianna absolutely hates Paul for betraying Steph so cruelly - but what right does she have when she's basically done the same thing? 

Not knowing what to do or say, both women allow an uncomfortable amount of silence pass, filled only with whimpers and sniffles. Brie leaves her eyes firmly fixed on Stephanie, desperate for her to look up, but she never does; Steph just knows that Brie's big brown eyes would push her over the edge, if she isn't already there. 

"I love you.." Brie admits tearily.

Stephanie lets out an audible whimper - that was a line she simply wasn't mentally prepared to hear. Brie can't love her.. not after all that's happened. She shakes her head, continuing to run the fingers through her hair with frustration.

"Stephanie, I love-"   
"Get out!!" Stephanie yells, even louder than before, gripping tightly at the strands of hair either side of her head. 

With her heart being in absolute agony, Brianna chooses not to fight Stephanie's pleas - she just doesn't have the strength. Weeping uncontrollably, the younger woman turns around and practically runs out of the office, protectively clinging to her bump. Brie feels as though she's falling into another panic attack as she runs away; her breathing is incredibly irregular, and her vision was blurry from the tears. 

The moment Brie leaves the room, Stephanie suddenly becomes freezing cold; despite her anger, being without Brianna's presence leaves her feeling extremely unsafe. 

Standing up and stumbling towards the door, a crying Stephanie watches on as Brie strides further away from her. 

"Brie, wait!" Steph calls out, but she's too choked up for even herself to hear. "Pl-please come back.. please don't leave me again.. I-I need you.." she whispers, sorrowfully pressing her forehead against the doorframe.


	24. Chapter 24

Collapsing onto her sofa, Stephanie throws her head back as a few more tears escape her eyes. Today probably couldn't have been worse - but she blames herself just as much as she blames Brie.

Quietly getting on with some paperwork, while admittedly quite boring, was at least a distraction from the rest of the world; she didn't have to think about Paul, she wasn't in the house which feels way too big for her, but most importantly, Steph's mind was too concentrated on finances to be thinking about Brie Bella. Every time Stephanie thinks about her, there's a split second where she makes her feel incredibly happy.. but then comes the sharp sting of realisation, and she's hurting all over again. In essence, it's simply so much easier to not think about Brie at all. 

But today, she had to. Because Brie was there. 

When Steph heard someone knock on the door, she didn't think for a second that Brie would walk into her office. Presumably, it would be another superstar, or someone from production.. but Brie? 

Stephanie knows that she reacted angrily, and maybe it was over the top, but laying eyes on Brianna again caused all of the pent up emotion to spill out at once. Yes, perhaps she shouldn't have shouted.. but Stephanie was just so angry at Brie, she couldn't help it! And wether she had the right or not, Steph's blood was boiling - for Brianna leaving her all those months ago, only to turn up out of the blue on a random Monday night.

As Steph moves herself to lie down on the sofa, she props her head above a cushion, her tears falling onto the soft fabric; she clings to her stomach as the pain begins manifesting itself in physical ways. While a small part of her is still angry at the younger woman.. she deeply regrets yelling at her. Call her stupid, but Stephanie near despises herself for losing her temper so badly.. for Christ's sake, Brie's pregnant, what if Steph's outbursts caused any complications?? She'd never be able to live with herself. Besides, she never even gave Brianna a chance to explain herself..

It feels like, over the years, Stephanie's made an enemy out of every superstar on their roster - she's always been perceived as the cold hearted authority figure, who abuses all of her power.. but deep down, she's a kind woman, with a heart of gold. And Brianna brought that side to the forefront.. she made Steph want to be a better person, and made her feel like it's okay to be vulnerable. After today, the older woman is questioning if she really is just the bully everyone takes her for. 

The most hurtful part of all..? Brie saying 'I love you'. Being true to her heart, Stephanie could say the same about Brianna.. maybe she really has fallen for her? Maybe, if she allowed herself, Steph could march to Brie's front door and take her in her arms, forgetting the world that surrounds them. But even if that were possible, Stephanie understands that loving Brie would only hurt them both; After all, if Brie really loved her, why would she abandon her and have a second child with someone else?

As Stephanie sinks further into the sofa, the front door clicks, and the broken young woman looks towards the noise. In walks her two teenage daughters, and Stephanie inwardly swears at herself for forgetting that her girls were staying with her for the night. With her and Paul only being recently separated, the custody of Aurora and Murphy isn't a set routine yet; besides, today has been admittedly frazzling for her.

Quickly wiping away the tears on her cheeks, Stephanie stands up to greet the girls, plastering on a smile. With that being said, Neither Murphy or Aurora seem convinced by their mother's fakery.

"Okay, we can tell you've been crying." Murphy pokes.  
"Oh.. yeah, just a sad movie.." She plays off, hoping they buy the excuse. "How come you're wearing your ballet shoes Murph?"

A moment of silence passes. Stephanie racks her mind for what she could've said wrong - everything that comes out of her mouth seems to get her in trouble today. But whatever the reason for the judgmental look on her daughter's faces is, Steph isn't entirely sure that she'll be able to mentally cope with another argument. She's at her wit's end with life at the minute, and she can't always imagine herself coming out the other side.

"Are you kidding?" Aurora breaks the silence.   
"No..? Did your teacher change the days of rehearsal again?"   
Murphy looks down as her little blue eyes begin to well up. "I have a dance show tonight.. you were supposed to come watch me.." she explains with a wobbly voice.   
"She's been looking forward to this for months, and you forget??" Aurora shoots, protectively wrapping an arm around her younger sister. 

Completely horrified, Stephanie can't help but feel the knot in her stomach tightening - as if her day could've gone any worse. She swears on her own life that quite literally no one told Steph about this dance show.. Hell, she didn't even book time off work! The only reason she's at home is because she left early after what happened with Brie! Admittedly, Stephanie hasn't been able to attend every dance show, but she's always tried her best to get there. 

"Honey, I promise you that no one told me about tonight.." Stephanie pleads.   
"Dad told us he'd phoned you, and you offered to drive us there.." Murphy says with a quivering lip. 

Stephanie does her best not to scoff too loudly. She can forgive Paul for getting mixed up about the phone call.. but you can't imagine someone offering to drive. For whatever purpose, he's so blatantly lied to them, and once again, Stephanie must look like the bad guy in front of her own children. 

As much as Steph could loose her mind right now, break down crying and blame Paul for her life falling apart.. but besides being disingenuous, she can't badmouth a father in front of his kids. Aurora and Murphy are just as much Paul's children as Stephanie's, and she refuses to play a blame game with him. 

"Girls, I'm sorry, but your dad must've just gotten his wires crossed.." She says, attempting to remain calm.   
"Dad's right.. you really don't care about us, do you?" Aurora questions. 

Her eyes visibly widening, Stephanie nearly has a panic attack on the spot. Surely, her girls don't believe she just doesn't care? Granted, she isn't the perfect mother.. but despite all her faults, there's no one on this earth she'd put before her daughters - not her father, not her brother, not Paul.. not even Brianna. Besides how heartbreaking that question is, Steph's blood also boils at it; why the fuck is Paul telling his girls that their mother doesn't care about them?

"Your dad said I don't care about you..?" Stephanie asks, her fragile state getting the better of her as she starts weeping.   
"He's only telling the truth!" Murphy shouts.  
Shooting her mother a dismissive look before turning around, Aurora looks down to her sister. "Come on, we'll get the bus, and we'll just go back to dad's together afterwards.."  
"Wait.. wait, I'm happy to drive you.." Steph makes a plea, near enough pathetically. 

Aurora guides her sister to the front door a Stephanie's tears just get worse and worse. What happened with Brie was nearly enough to send her over the edge - if she can't amend this with her daughters, she might become past the point of saving. If she had nothing else, her daughters are all Stephanie truly needs..

"Girls.. please, I'm sorry.. I'm so, so sorry.." She sobs. "Murph, I'd love to come watch you.."  
"I don't want you there!" Her youngest daughters yells. "I don't want you anywhere near me! I just want to do what dad suggested, and move in with him permanently!" 

While she attempts at wrapping her mind around what Murphy just said, Stephanie weakly stammers in response. Words can't describe how she feels - it's the most deep scar of betrayal and abandonment possible, and it's a hole she isn't sure is escapable. Despite her girls only being a few steps away from her, they've honestly never felt so far away.

"Met too Murph.." Aurora agrees, looking her mother directly in the crying eyes. "Let's go.." she adds, taking them both outside of the house. 

Upon hearing the door click once again, Stephanie physically falls back onto the sofa, desperately trying to regain control of her breathing. She's never cried this way in her entire life, not even when she discovered Paul's cheating. All her mind can focus on is the idea of sheer hopelessness.

Sobbing uncontrollably, Steph slowly drags herself up the stairs, clinging onto the banister for dear life. Right now, she needs the minimal comfort found within a pillow, underneath a warm duvet.. and no matter how much she despises herself for doing it - she imagines Brianna lying with her. 

Because regardless on what her brain knows.. her heart still loves her. She loves her.


	25. Chapter 25

As the twins pull up to their shared driveway, Nikki reluctantly glances towards her sister; the look of sheer pain across her face, her teary brown eyes seeming so god dam heartbroken.. it's difficult to witness. Seeing someone she loves so much looking so distraught is one of hardest things Nikki's been forced to endure.

Their drive home was entirely silent, besides the first few minutes where Brianna couldn't help but audibly sob. She didn't reveal to Nikki what happened between herself and Stephanie, but it wouldn't take a genius to work out that it crushed the young woman; She simply couldn't bring herself to talk about it, or she'd break down all over again. Out of fear about saying the wrong thing, her twin also kept quiet.

The image of Brianna crying uncontrollably and desperately asking to be taken away from the building is one that'll be engrained into Nicole's mind forever.. she's seen her sister cry before, and sometimes it's been painful, but this time feels near enough horrific. Brie has never been like this before, and Nikki despises herself for taking Stephanie away from her all those months ago; seeing Stephanie as a villain is one of her deepest regrets.

"Brizee.." she quietly says, cautiously reaching out a hand. 

Immediately shuddering away from her sister's touch, Brie clings to her baby bump as she hunches over, beginning to sob once again.

"Oh Brie.." Nikki whimpers, starting to well up herself. "Tell me what happened.." she half pleads. 

And with that plea, the events from earlier today circulate around Brianna's mind, tormenting her like some form of nightmare. Except, this is much worse - because she can never wake up from it. 

"She hates me!" Brie screams out, tears streaming down her face. "She hates me and I don't even blame her.. I hate me too.."  
"But.. Y-you've done nothing wrong, why on earth would you hate yourself..?"   
"Because I hurt her.. I ghosted her when she needed me the most.. what kind've monster does that?" She cries.

Becoming too overwhelmed, Brianna steps out of the car and instinctively runs into her house for safety. Following closely, Nikki runs in along side her twin; her eyes are met with Bryan and Artem, sitting on the couch, watching football, with a sleeping Birdie on Artem's lap. Both men instantly notice the anguish on Brie's face, although it isn't exactly hard to miss. While Artem's face displays a look of concern and comfort, Bryan's remains expressionless - almost as if the look of terror across his wife's face means nothing to him. 

"Artem. Take Birdie to our house. Please." Nikki asks, quietly but sternly. 

Recognising his fiancée's authoritative tone, Artem carefully lifts the sleepy little bird up into his arms, carrying her to their neighbouring house. Judging by the look of Brianna, this would probably result in some family drama that Birdie doesn't need to be caught up in. 

Bryan chuckles to himself, turning off the TV as his emotionless expression remains - it doesn't go unnoticed by either twin, but Nikki's blood especially boils at the sight. This is his wife! And she's practically breaking down in front of him, whilst carrying his child; the least he can do is seem a little concerned. Hell, Artem looked more worried than Bryan does! 

"I see your meet up went exactly how I said it would.." He says smugly.   
"Bryan!" Nikki scolds. 

The shouting causes Brie's heart rate to continue increasing, and she keeps crying despite how much she tries to keep her composure. Today has completely broken her, and perhaps nothing could piece her back together - not without Stephanie at least - but that's proven to be a false inevitability. Being here, in her own house, just feels so uncomfortable; it's almost like it isn't her home anymore.. 

"I did say in advance that she'd upset you.. do you really expect me to have sympathy when I explicitly warned you that this would happen?"   
"She's your wife." Nikki spits, protectively wrapping an arm around her twin. "You should be the first one to comfort her.."   
"Hey, I told her not to go!" He defends himself.  
"Just stop!" Brie finally explodes, her emotions spilling out.

Nikki steps back, allowing her sister to say whatever she needs to. Recently, everyone's seemingly trying to make decisions for Brie; she never wanted to retire from the ring, it's questionable that she ever wanted another child, and she definitely never wanted to stop seeing Stephanie. Thinking back, Stephanie was probably the only person who didn't try and control Brie's life.. no wonder they grew so close.

"Don't talk bad about her! You don't know the first thing about her!" Brie emotionally shouts.  
"I know enough." Bryan seethes.   
"No you don't!" She defends. "She treated me better than you ever did! You don't give a dam about me unless I'm making you a kid!" 

Keeping silent, Bryan stands up abruptly, clenching his fists. Instantly recognising an aggressive demeanour, Nikki steps in between the married couple, squeezing Brianna's shoulder on her way. Perhaps she's made mistakes with Brianna in the past, just like Bryan has.. but she refuses to make another one, ever again. Her sister needs support, and if her husband won't offer that, she'll do it herself.

"Look, I think everyone could do with a breather.." Nicole reasons. "Brie can stay with me tonight, and we can all talk it out in the morning.."   
"And what would the point of that be? My own wife thinks someone as poisonous as Stephanie McMahon treats her better than me." Bryan says angrily, storming out of the front door as his fists remain tight. 

As soon as the door slams, Nikki expects to hear another whimper from Brie; loud noises seem to shake her in such a fragile state. Looking to her though, Brie simply gazes at the door. Her eyes are still puffy - but she almost seems calmer now that Bryan is gone. Maybe that's always been the case..? Each second that goes by, Nicole simply becomes more convinced that Stephanie actually does treat Brianna better than her own husband. 

"I need her Nikki.." Brie weakly admits. "My Steph.. she's not poisonous.. sh-she's beautiful.." 

Sighing deeply, Nicole takes Brie by the hand and looks her in the eyes, smiling softly; Brie struggles to smile back, but she quietly appreciates the comfort from her sister. Despite craving Stephanie's affection more than anything.. having Nikki on her side is really sweet. 

"I'm so, so sorry for taking her away from you.." Nikki whispers.   
"You didn't know how much she meant to me.."  
"But if I'd have listened to you, I would've known.. I should've known."

Falling into Nicole's arms, Brie takes some deep breaths to calm herself down - she honestly feels anything but calm, but the stress can't be good for her baby - or Nikki's for that matter. 

"We're going to fix this Brizee.." Nikki says, stroking her sister's back.   
"How..?"  
"I don't know yet.. but we will fix it... I promise."


	26. Chapter 26

Tell Nikki Bella six months ago that she'd be willingly seeking out a McMahon's office - she'd never believe you - not in a month of Sundays. 

Regardless of what she thought months ago, or even as soon as last week, Nikki's here now; she drove to the arena that Raw's being held in, and she refuses to leave until her and Stephanie have at least spoken. With her sister's happiness at stake, there isn't much Nicole won't do.. hell, she'll even beg if she needs to. With that being said, she has absolutely no idea what to say; hopefully, a conversation will naturally develop, if Stephanie even agrees to speak at all. 

Finding her office is easy enough - the lady sitting on reception gave a clear direction, and the door is marked with a plaque stating 'Ms. S. McMahon'. Nikki's heart begins racing as she lifts her hand up to knock, and she can only imagine how Brie must've felt doing the same thing; to be honest, knowing it's for Brianna's wellbeing is the only reason Nikki would subject herself to this anxiety, especially while pregnant. 

Brie has been staying in Nikki and Artem's spare room ever since her argument with Bryan; besides giving Brie some space from his anger, Nikki feels alot happier about being able to keep an eye on her. With how somber Brie's demeanour has been recently - being away from her leaves Nicole's mind conjuring up the most horrible thoughts of her twin doing something awful - hurting herself, or sometimes worse. Thoughts like that linger in the young woman's nightmares, and she needs to have Brianna around for her own sanity. 

Despite her determination for this to work out, Nicole can't help but be reluctant to knock. After all, she only gets one chance at this conversation, and if she screws it up, it's her sister that'll feel the repercussions.

"Nikki..?" A voice questions from behind her. 

Turning around, Nikki lays eyes on the person she came in pursuit of.. Stephanie. The older woman seems almost unrecognisable to Nikki - her eyes appear to have sunken inwards, and she's visibly lost an unhealthy amount of weight. Wether you're an enemy or an ally to Steph - she's always had an authoritative presence about her.. and it's just completely vanished.

"Wha-what are you doing here..?" She asks shakily.   
"I uh.. I was hoping I could talk to you..? In private?" 

Sighing deeply, Stephanie clearly doesn't want to talk. In fairness to her, this is the woman whose sister practically broke her heart, and it's all still so fresh. Thinking about everything already hurts so much, let alone saying it out loud. However, she can't exactly turn an ex-employee away from her office, despite any personal matters that might've occurred between them.

Reluctantly, Steph opens her office door and gestures for Nikki to step in.

Once they're both inside, and the rest of the world is shut away, Nikki can feel the tears already beginning to flow; she hopes that Stephanie will just assume it's pregnancy hormones, but they both know her tears are about something much more significant. The older woman doesn't know if Brie told her sister about what happened when they were last together.. but it's safe to think that Nikki wouldn't be here had that not've occurred.

"I know I'm probably the last person you want to see right now.. but, I needed to come here.." 

Stephanie nods her head slowly, encouraging her to continue. Without meaning to sound rude, Nikki's right - she really doesn't want to see her - she's quite literally physically identical to the person she's desperately pining after. Looking at a pregnant Nikki just reminds her of the pregnant Brie.. and that hurts. Perhaps that sounds pathetic? But any reminder of Brianna makes Stephanie feel as though someone's stabbing her in the chest.

"How are you..?" Nicole asks, surprisingly sincerely.  
"I.. I don't know how to answer that.." Steph admits, her emotional wall breaking as she begins crying openly. 

Feeling incredibly guilty, Nikki wraps her arms around the sobbing woman, giving her a shoulder to cry on. Even though it's probably an irrational thought, she can't help but feel the whole weight of this; not only is Brianna miserable without Steph, Steph is clearly just as miserable without Brianna. What if she's permanently broken apart two people who need each other more than anything..? 

"I'm sorry.." Stephanie mumbles onto Nicole's shoulder.   
"Don't say that.." she comforts. "Brie's been exactly the same, you know..? She misses you so much.."

The moment that name hits her eardrums, Steph shuffles out of Nikki's grasp and hunches her body inwards, wiping her eyes dry. Maybe Brie does miss her.. but Stephanie's missed Brie for months now. No matter how much she wants for Brianna to just appear before her, and act as though nothing happened - so much has happened, and she can't pretend there isn't resentment because of it.

"Look, Nikki-"   
"Please.. please, just hear me out.." Nicole pleads. 

Judging by the look in Nikki's eyes, she wasn't getting out of listening to this. The older woman takes a breath to prepare herself.

"I.. I know you probably think that Brie just blanked you one day.."   
"She did!" Stephanie cries out, clearly in pain.   
"Because I asked her to!" Nicole finally reveals, her heart aching with the guilt.

Her face dropping, Stephanie's eyes go wide as she attempts to comprehend what Nikki means. 

"B-brie had a panic attack one day.. I was trying to comfort her, and.. well, she told me she had feelings for you.."

Instantly, Brie saying 'I love you' flashes across Stephanie's mind; at the time, hearing it caused so much pain, because it felt like a lie.. it was easier to think it was a lie. After all, if Stephanie had allowed herself to believe Brie actually loved her, she'd be forced to confront her own love for the younger woman. Imagine being in love with someone who left you without a word.. how pathetic could she get? 

But what if.. what if she did mean it? What if the love Stephanie has for Brianna is somehow reciprocated?

"I thought that you were confusing her, or that you were bad for her.. I forced her into blanking you, and I hate myself for doing it, but it wasn't her fault.." Nikki explains, welling up as she does.

Saying it out loud now, Nicole can't quite believe what she did to her sister, or to Stephanie for that matter. In the moment, she was convinced that Brie was panicking because of Steph.. but she was wrong. Brie needs Stephanie, now more than ever. 

"So she.. sh-she still wanted to come see me..?" Steph asks, with innocently wide eyes.   
"It absolutely crushed her to leave you.. please, Steph.. give her another chance?" Nikki weakly pleads. "I've had to watch my sister cry almost everyday for so long and.. the last time I saw her smile was when she last called you.."

Keeping back the tears is really hard for Nikki - mainly because, she isn't lying. Brie puts on this smile, she acts like everything is perfectly fine.. but Nicole can read her sister like a book, and she knows that smile is 100% fake. If only she'd done something sooner, maybe Brianna could genuinely be happy; wether that be with Bryan, or Nicole herself.. or even with Stephanie McMahon. 

"Here.." Nikki says, passing a piece of paper over to the older woman. 

Upon inspection, the paper states 'The little cafe on Mabel street. 1:30pm, Saturday.' Stephanie can't help but smile softly - the Mabel street cafe is where her and Brie first became friends..

"Brie wanted me to give this to you.. I can't force you, but.. please just consider it..?" She asks, taking a deep breath as she walks towards the door. 

Stephanie stares at the paper intently. Obviously, she knows this is genuine.. but her hurting mind still allows for doubt; what if the twins have set up some elaborate trap to make her seem foolish? Of course that isn't true, and Steph would never believe something so ludicrous.. but then again, she never believed that Brianna would ghost her.

"...She loves you, you know..?" Nikki adds.  
"She told you that..?"   
"No.. I can just tell." She finally states with wide eyes, slowly walking out of the office.


	27. Chapter 27

Despite the cafe being completely packed, Stephanie couldn't help but feel incredibly lonely; sitting all by herself, waiting for someone who might never show up.. her anxiety is off the charts. 

Staring at everybody else in the small cafe almost makes things worse - after all, no one else is on their own - everyone has a friend to speak to, their partners, or their children. But Stephanie is just alone. And although she knows it's nothing but a mind trick, it feels like she's being stared at - as if people know she's potentially being stood up.

Stephanie has been waiting for about fifteen minutes now, and that may seem short, but she waited for fifteen minutes last time.. and that fifteen minutes turned into half an hour, which turned into a full hour, and eventually became months until she saw Brie again. And it's safe to say that Brianna's spontaneous appearance didn't go particularly well. 

If she doesn't turn up soon, Steph might just end up having a breakdown in the midst of all these strangers. Her heart rate was rapidly increasing by the second, and her mind was racing with different possibilities of what to say; no matter what sentences she manages to formulate, none of them seem even remotely suitable. What are you supposed to tell a woman who broke your heart, but is equally the one person who could mend it..? 

The more time that ticks by, the more hopeless Stephanie becomes. Brie wrote down to meet at 1:30pm, but it was close to 2pm now, and she's terrified that history maybe about to repeat itself. Perhaps it's stupid to even think, but Steph worries that one of the many people surrounding her is secretly filming her, ready to give the paparazzi the latest video of Stephanie McMahon looking anxious in a cafe; of course, that's absolutely preposterous, but she barely has any trust in anyone anymore. 

Suddenly, a pregnant woman stumbles into Stephanie's eye line - she's cradling her bump, and looks extremely frantic.

"Steph?" The woman calls out, not immediately seeing the brunette.

Standing up with wide eyes, Stephanie gazes over to the young woman, having a moment to take in the sight; Brianna looking absolutely stunning in a loose, floral maxi dress.. but to be honest, Steph wouldn't have cared if she turned up wearing a bin bag, as long as she turned up at all. 

"Brie..?" Stephanie whispers.   
"I am so so sorry, Birdie had a meltdown, and Bryan wasn't helping, so I had to sort her out myself, and then my taxi was late.." Brianna begins to ramble nervously, then takes a deep sigh. "You came..?" She asks quietly, her eyes involuntarily beginning to tear up. 

Unable to muster any words together, Stephanie lunges forwards and wraps her arms around Brie, tightly hugging her as she attempts to collect her thoughts; Brianna immediately eases into their embrace, holding onto the older woman with more care and protectiveness than she's ever given before. The last time they were together, Steph was (understandably) angry at her.. simply being able to hug again feels so special. 

Still entangled together, the pair sits down on the sofa attached to the wall. There's so much that Stephanie wants to say, and wants to talk about - but being so close is more than enough - because she's saying all that she needs to. Before, she might've felt angry.. and Heaven knows she was. All Steph wanted was to scream, and shout away all of her emotions.. but she is just so tired. She's emotionally exhausted, and a warm hug with the woman she cares most deeply about feels like some form of cure. 

"I am so sorry, Stephanie.." Brie whispers, obviously crying a little. "I wanted to come see you, I really did.. but then things just got so messy, and I felt so scared.." 

Stephanie pulls back from their embrace, then smiles softly as she brushes some loose strands of hair out of Brie's emotional face. After Nikki explained everything to her, her grudge disappeared in an instant, and she was able to see Brianna as the woman who had her heart again. 

"Brie.. I won't pretend I wasn't hurt.. but I wouldn't have been hurt unless I cared so much.." Steph explains, running her hands through Brie's beautiful, brunette waves. "I forgive you..

A sweet smile flashes across Brianna's face, and Stephanie notices a small glimmer of happiness in her eyes - she looks almost radiant, and gazing into her big brown eyes is causing the older woman's tummy to fill up with butterflies.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you.." Steph says sincerely. "How's your little one doing..?" She asks, placing her hand on Brie's baby bump.   
"They're amazing.. kicking my ass, but amazing.." the younger woman chuckles. "I just hope I'm an amazing enough mother for them.. sometimes I feel like they deserve better than me.." 

Listening intently, Stephanie moves her hand from Brie's bump to hold her hand. She knows that, deep down, Brie didn't really want another baby - but she equally knows that Brie loves her unborn child with all her heart. It must be such a conflicting feeling for her, but she intends to be there for her every step of the way. After all, she's only just got her back, and she refuses to let go again.

Out of the corner of her eye, Steph notices a single sunflower in a vase on the table next to them; leaning over, she retrieves the yellow flower, then tucks it behind Brianna's ear sweetly. 

"There. Beautiful.." She smiles.   
"Thank you, but.. I don't really feel it at the minute.." Brie dismisses, taking the flower out of her hair.

As Brianna swirls the sunflower through her fingers, Stephanie looks on at her with sorrowful eyes. How can someone so wonderful have such a low opinion of themselves? Because Brie isn't just beautiful - she's funny, she's intelligent, and she makes Steph's heart flutter in the most perfect way imaginable.

The thought of not having Brie in her life kills her.. in fact, she can barely imagine anything worse. 

"I love you too, you know?" Stephanie says, almost out of now where.   
Brie's eyes shoot away from the sunflower, and straight up to the woman next to her. "Wh.. what..?"   
"You told me you love me.. I-I love you too.."

It goes without saying that Stephanie's nervous to admit this, especially out loud. But having Brianna here, right in front of her - it causes all of the emotion to rush to the forefront - and there was no mistaking it for anything else. Over the past year, Steph's life felt as though it was unraveling before her eyes, but Brie's comfort and kind words were the only thing to help her through. Having to go through months without her is what finally helped the penny to drop; Stephanie had fallen, and she'd fallen deeply.

A soft smile forms across Brie's lips, and she leans into Stephanie's body - resting her head on her shoulder. 

"I feel like I don't deserve to hear you say that.." She chuckles quietly.   
"I mean it though.."   
"And I mean it too.. I love you." Brie says, lifting up the sunflower and tangling it inside Stephanie's hair. "It suits you better.." she adds, smiling goofily. 

Giggling softly, Stephanie encloses Brianna in her arms, and her mind begins to daydream about the future they could possibly share together. Their lives are far from perfect - Brie is still pregnant with Bryan's baby, and Steph still needs to fix the situation with Paul and her daughters. But even if their lives aren't perfect, this moment definitely is, and neither woman can stop their hearts from singing.

With a little faith, everything will somehow turn out just fine. Because if Stephanie McMahon and Brie Bella can fall for one another, literally anything is possible - and the thought of experiencing those possibilities together is the most exciting thing in the world.


	28. Chapter 28

After finishing painting her nails, Stephanie rests her hands along a magazine as she mindlessly gazes towards the TV. She isn't really watching the show, nor could she probably even tell you what show was on - her mind was occupied with other, much more important, things. 

Her daughters were to arrive at any minute, and she's hoping to clear the air over everything that happened last time. Perhaps Stephanie's delusional, but she's almost sure that Paul's doing this on purpose; he never told her about Murphy's ballet recital, and thinking her mother didn't care about it nearly broke the young girl. Also, telling them that Steph didn't care about them?? Knowing he did that makes her blood boil - there's nothing she wouldn't do for those beautiful girls. And Paul definitely knows that, so how on earth could he claim otherwise?

Hearing her daughters say they want to move in with their dad permanently hurt her more than words could say, she's never experienced pain quite like it. Of course, no matter what Stephanie thinks of Paul, she'd never stop him from seeing his own children - she'd have no grounds to. But Paul has no grounds to do it either. Stephanie can't work out if he's doing it in attempts to hurt her, prove a point, or some other twisted reason.. but whatever that reason is, she doesn't really care. Right now, her top priority is to mend her relationship with Murphy and Aurora. And, now that they've had some time apart to clam down, hopefully they can all talk. 

Until they turn up, Stephanie does her best to think about Brianna; she's one of the only aspects of her life that seems to be going well at the minute. The way they've blossomed is something she couldn't be more grateful for. Granted, it's been a messy road to say the least.. but things are looking up for their sweet little romance, and it fills Steph with the most happy butterflies. After all, she's come to a point where she can't imagine life without Brie. To think that 6 years ago, there's no one they despised more than each other.. 

Eventually, a knock at the door snaps the entranced woman back into reality. A smile forms across her lips - this is her chance to put everything right. 

As the door opens, Stephanie's heart speeds up with anticipation; although, when the muscular, tall figure of her ex-husband walks through the door, her face drops entirely. Paul is honestly the last person she wants to spend time with. In her perfect world, they'd never share a conversation ever again. 

"Oh.." she says, obviously disappointed.   
"Nice to see you too?"   
"Sorry, I.. are the girls with you?" 

Judging by his face, Steph knows that he came alone. A knot in her tummy begins tightening; here she is, excited to see her children again after a while of being apart, yet she gets the person who treated her like dirt. Again, maybe it's all in her head, but her mind instantly jumps to the conclusion that he somehow convinced them not to come. After all the little comments he's made, which seemingly turn their daughters further against Stephanie, definitely perpetuate the idea. 

"Where are they..? I had a day planned for us."   
"A day?"   
"Yeah, I booked front row seats for a ballet in the city - a making up present for Murph.."  
"Well.. Look, honey, I'm sorry, I asked them not to come.. but I'll pay you back for the tickets, I promise." He says, uncharacteristically kindly. 

Stephanie raises an eyebrow. Paul has no reason to be so nice to her. Supposedly, it could be from some weird form of guilt - but he's never been overly sensitive about her feelings before. Hell, his own office isn't the most secretive of places to have affairs. Also, she's fairly shocked at how openly he's admitted to preventing them from coming.. does he have no shame over what he's doing?? Steph's been looking forward to surprising her daughters all day; seeing the look on their faces when they went to the theatre; simply chatting to them in a pizza parlour while drinking milkshakes; just spending some actual time with them for once.. and he's taken that away again. 

Although, the most surprising thing for her was the way he called her 'honey'. When they were together, 'honey' was just something they called one another, but she wouldn't dream of saying it while they're apart. He's definitely up to something - but what the hell is it?? 

"Why would you-"  
"Steph, I really need to speak to you.. we need to talk, properly - as a couple."  
Stephanie takes a deep sigh. "I really don't have anything to say to you Paul. And we're not a couple anymore, you need to start accepting that.."   
"But I can't Steph.." Paul says, taking her by the hands, rather forcefully so that she can't step away. "I love you Stephanie, I love you so much.." 

Looking into his eyes, she simply can't believe that he's genuine. When Brianna told her she loved her.. it was just so full of emotion, so full of heart. But Paul almost appears like he's rehearsed it, there's no sense of realness, and it definitely doesn't make her heart skip a beat. Not anymore. To be completely truthful, in this moment, she's never hated him more. How dare he? How dare he turn up and claim to love her after all he's done to break her?! 

"Screwing a receptionist half your age doesn't sound like love to me." She states, her eyes becoming watery.   
"I know.. I know, and cheating on you is easily the worst mistake I've ever made.. but I promise, I will make it up to you. I'll make it up because I love you, and we can work this out.."   
"No we can't!" Stephanie shouts.   
"Don't say that.." he weakly replies, making a half convincing attempt at tears.  
"We can't work this out because I don't want to, Paul.. I stayed loyal to you for years, and you acted like I was dirt on your shoe! It took me a long time to work this out, but I deserve so much better.." 

Even though she'd never admit it, Stephanie's close to proud of herself. Looking back, during her marriage to Paul, she knew that he was being unfaithful, but she never wanted to face that truth. She simply wanted to bury her head in the sand and carry on with life. But then Brie came along, and she showed Steph what love should look like - she shouldn't have to cry herself to sleep every night, or constantly blaming herself for things Paul did, despising herself for every small thing that goes wrong. Brianna's kind of love makes her feel lighter, and most importantly, happier.. and that's exactly what she deserves. 

"You're right..you do deserve better, and I will be better for you, Steph-"  
"Get out." She says abruptly. "I don't want you to be better for me.. I don't want a life with you, and I don't love you anymore.. now just get out, I'll pick up the girls later." 

Taking a huge breath of relief, Stephanie walks over to a nearby cabinet and begins searching for a pair of shoes. Presuming that Paul has left, she's free to clear her mind, and look forward to the evening. 

Suddenly, there's a strong grip around one of her arms. Steph's eyes go wide with shock as she abruptly stand up, shaking Paul off her. Again, how dare he?! It didn't feel like he was trying to hurt her, but he has absolutely no right to even touch her! 

"Get off me! I told you to leave!"   
"I really didn't want to do this Stephanie.." He says cryptically.   
"Do what..?"  
Paul sighs, appearing to be bracing himself. "Aurora and Murphy want to move in with me permanently.. and frankly, I happen to agree with them. I mean, they deserve to live with a parent who at least remembers their dance shows."

Honestly, she could so easily slap him. She probably never would, but it'd be so satisfying non the less.

"But, of course.. if me and you were to get back together, the girls might stop.. internalising.. such negative ideas about you." he explains, a wicked grin slapped across his face. 

All of Stephanie's emotional armour instantly faded away, snd she begins crying. As soon as he said that, she realised - she realised exactly what he was trying to do. She knew it, she fucking knew it! All of Murphy and Aurora's outbursts.. they're a direct result from him; he's been poisoning them into hating her! And now he's using it as a kind've bargaining material! 

"No.. no, you don't get to use my relationship with my daughters as blackmail! I've made mistakes, but I love them!"   
"Well, right now, they're starting to question that.. and something tells me they're going to want nothing to do with you soon enough. Don't you think you should do something about it?" 

Crying close to uncontrollably, Stephanie falls onto her sofa, hiding her face. How on earth could he do this to her?! She's never done anything to him.. yet he's forcing her to stay in a loveless marriage in order to have a relationship with the girls she's adored and cared for, ever since they were brought into the world. In fact, her own world would be nothing without them.. but how could she ever return to Paul? What about the divorce proceedings..? What about.. what about Brianna..? 

As she cries, Paul places himself next to Steph, and rests an arm around her. She can't believe he has the nerve.. what kind've man did she marry..? 

"Steph, honey.. I can make all of this go away. Just let me come home. Let all of us come home.." 

Acting upon impulse, Stephanie sits up and strikes him across the face with her right hand, then stands up, away from him. Paul looks up at her, shocked by her aggression towards him. While she surprised herself, Steph can't truthfully say that she feels any sense of remorse; she's never thought someone to be so god damn ugly before. If she had the physical strength, she'd quite happily punch him.

"I want you to leave." She attempts to sound authoritative, but ends up chocking her words on the tears.   
"Okay.. okay, I'll leave. But you should really think about this.. Call me." Paul finishes, before finally exiting the room.

The very moment she's alone, Stephanie near screeches. How did this happen?!

No matter what she does, tears just continue to fall. What the hell is she supposed to do?! Roll over and give into him?? But they're her children.. she'd go through hell for them, of course she would. Whatever she decides, there's going to be heartbreak.

And another heartbreak might just finally finish the vulnerable young woman off..


	29. Chapter 29

Wrapped up in bed, Brianna gazes out of the window opposite the bed, memorised by the stars. She's barely been able to sleep a wink the past few days - thinking about her next meeting with Stephanie keeps the young woman awake, despite the butterflies being happy ones. Plus, Nikki's guest bed isn't as comfy as her own. 

Brie's been staying with Nikki and Artem for days; sleeping next to Bryan doesn't feel right anymore, not when she's in love with someone else. Of course, Brianna's aware that this situation must be painful for him, and she wishes that things happened differently - but Bryan had his part to play in letting her go. Thankfully though, Nikki only living next door meant that nights away from Bryan didn't equal days away from Birdie. 

To be honest, having a huge bed all to herself feels really odd. There's just an empty side, and it's almost lonely to lie in. It goes without saying that Brie doesn't want her husband to fill the space anymore.. but she'd give anything to have Stephanie next to her. 

Hopefully, if they can persevere through the next few months, they'll be together soon, and all of shit will become worth it. Although, it genuinely can't come fast enough; words can't describe how much Brianna craves the feeling of Stephanie's skin.. hell, she hasn't even had the chance to kiss her yet. But if the feeling of simply being in Steph's arms is anything to go by - it'll be the most magical thing in the world - as cheesey as that may sound.

Catching her attention, the bedroom door slowly opens, and in walks her twin sister, wearing a BirdieBee bralette and some pyjama shorts. She peaks her head into the room slowly, then notices that Brianna is wide awake. 

With a soft smile, Nikki walks to the foot of the bed. 

"Couldn't sleep..?" She asks.   
"I've barely winked.. I don't like sleeping alone."  
"I know. That's why I came." Nikki explains, walking over and climbing into the empty side of the bed.

Brie takes a deep sigh, and thanks her lucky stars for Nicole being so supportive through this. After it all, it must've been a shock to discover that her twin sister is in love with a woman she's perceived to despise. But regardless on the absurdity, Nikki's always done her best to keep Brianna happy, even if she gets it wrong sometimes. To this day, the older twin has barely forgiven herself for some of the things she did - she's just grateful that it's all turning out well in the end. 

Resting her hand on Brianna's baby bump, Nikki looks to her sister with kind eyes; she knows how difficult this is on her. Pursuing a relationship with a woman, whilst pregnant with someone else's baby isn't the most conventional of lives. Then again, the life of a Bella twin could never be described as normal. But that's another thing to think about really - when the press get hold of this story - they'll go to town. Brie and Steph are going to face some absolute shit together.. but Nicole has every intention of doing her best by them. 

"When are you next seeing her?"  
"Tomorrow.." Brie answers, a slight glow in her cheeks. "I know I only saw her a few days ago, but.. I really miss her." 

Nikki sighs. Of course, Brie's told her that her and Stephanie are romantically involved, but she's yet to tell her that they're already in love. However, Brie really doesn't need to - because Nicole already knows. She can see it in Brianna's eyes when the conversation turns to Stephanie; the way she lets her guard down when it comes to her; the absolute devastation she went through without her.. any fool could see it. And Nicole is a lot more than any fool. 

"What are your plans..? Have you asked Bryan for a divorce?"   
"Not yet.. He's only willing to talk to me about Birdie right now, and I don't want to do it when she's there.. as for this little one-" Brie says, looking down to her bump. "We'll have to work out a co-parenting plan."   
"Not to scare you, but can you imagine Bryan being happy about that?"   
"He'll be even less happy when I tell him I want Stephanie to be a guardian." 

It's small comments like this which emphasise to Nikki quite how head over heels Brianna is - she wouldn't just trust anyone to be the guardian of her children. But she definitely has a point: Bryan isn't going to like it at all. Chances are, they'll need to get a lawyer involved for the conversation to be anything close to civilised. But with the love the new couple clearly have for one another, it'll all be okay eventually. 

"Come on then.. If you're seeing her tomorrow, you'll need your beauty sleep." Nicole grins, reaching across her sister to turn the lamp off. 

Once the sisters were in completely darkness, they both lie down fully, and find a sleeping position which accommodates their tummies. Protectively, Nikki grabs hold of Brianna's hand. They look at one another, silently appreciating having the other in their lives. Without Nikki, Brie would be an anxious and depressed mess; without Brie, Nikki would never have discovered her own worth. They're two peas in a pod, and they simply couldn't function if they were ever separated.

"You approve, right..? Of Steph?"   
"Of course.. You should've seen the look of hope in her eyes when I told her you wanted to meet up.." 

Her mind casting back to their date at the coffee shop, Brie's eyes began sparkling. It was in that moment, where she was wrapped up in Stephanie's arms, that she could've existed forever. If she could have that, Nikki, and her children.. she'd be set for life. Part of her feels guilty for bringing a child into the world under such complicated circumstances; but at the end of the day, they're being brought into a world with a hell of a lot more love.

"I'm in love with her, Nicole.." she admits quietly.  
"I know, Brizee.. I realised that way too late, but I know.." 

Smiling to themselves, both sisters close their eyes and begin to fall asleep. Maybe they could've had a steadier road.. but they're not sure they would've asked for that. They're who they are today because of all the shit they went through..

And with such a happy ending on the horizon - why on earth would they want to change it?


	30. Chapter 30

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya! So.. this is the last chapter. It's been an emotional ride, eh? I just want to say thank you to all my readers on this story - you guys have appreciated my writing more than I ever could've expected! Your comments, reviews and general sweetness have been so lovely to see, so thank you so much for all of that! And please let me know what you think of this final chapter :) 
> 
> Thank you again guys!

Wearing a nervous, but nevertheless genuine, smile across her face, Brianna sits on a park bench as she waits for Stephanie to turn up. Originally, they'd planned to have lunch together at a nearby restaurant, but Stephanie texted last minute and asked to meet here instead. Obviously, Brie doesn't care where they see one another, as long as they get to meet at all. 

Brie looks down at herself, quietly hoping that she didn't over-do it with her outfit; she's wearing a yellow maternity dress, with nude high heels. Admittedly, she might've overdone it on the makeup, but Nikki insisted on doing her makeup for her - something about 'making an impression'. Brie specifically made sure to wear the colour yellow though. After their sweet confession at the cafe, Brie went to a local florist and bought a bunch of sunflowers for Stephanie. As cheesy as it might be, she thought it could become 'their' flower? 

Along with the sunflowers, Brie has a small note that she'd hand written. Again, she hopes it doesn't come across too cheesy, but she wants Stephanie to know how cared about she is, and writing it down meant that she could get the wording perfectly right.

Out of the corner of her eye, Brie catches Stephanie walking up to her; she looks absolutely beautiful, wearing a blue and white dress with hardly any makeup. She's the most natural beauty, and it never fails to entrance the younger woman. Once Stephanie comes closer towards her, Brie can't help but notice that she seems.. shaky? She can't put her finger on it, but there's definitely something 'off' about her demeanour. Whatever it is, she knows that they can work through it together.

"Brie..?" Stephanie calls out weakly.

Standing up and smiling comfortingly, Brianna runs up to Steph, enclosing her within a warm embrace. The way Stephanie clings onto her waist proves to Brie that something must be wrong - it really worries her. They've had enough troubles throughout their relationship, why can't they just have one date without any tears?? 

Both women sit down on the bench, but don't let go of one another. If anything, their hug becomes much tighter. Brie entangles her hand into Steph's silky hair, attempting to comfort her. She can feel Stephanie's heartbeat against her own chest, and her concern grows by the second. Over the past few months, Brie's discovered Steph to be a very sensitive and emotional woman - it's one of the things she loves most about her - but something feels different this time. It feels more.. significant? Somehow. 

"Hey.. hey, please don't be upset.." Brie whispers.

Pulling back, Brie can easily see the pools forming in the other woman's deep eyes. She hates seeing her this way. They've cried onto each other multiple times now, but it's typically been over something they both knew about; this time, Brianna has no clue what's causing this, and all she wants to do is cheer her up and see her radiant smile again.

An idea popping into her head on how to do that, Brianna reaches behind her and grabs the bouquet of sunflowers. She presents them to the crying woman in front of her, and it manages to get a soft smile from her. 

"You got these for me..?" She asks, smelling the vibrant flowers.   
"Of course.. I see the way your face lights up when you see sunflowers.."   
"Thank you Brie.." Stephanie says, her smile growing slightly. 

The older woman leans across and kisses Brie's cheek with gratitude. Placing her hand over her cheek, Brianna longs for the burning sensation to never disappear. She rests a hand on Stephanie's leg, gazing into her eyes sweetly. 

"What's wrong..?" She asks, seriously but kindly. 

And with that question, Stephanie's wall breaks. She bursts into tears, burying her face into Brie's neck. This will easily be the hardest thing she'll ever do, and part of her wants to abandon the whole conversation and go to lunch with the woman she loves. But as much as she loves Brie, she'll always love her daughters above anyone else. There aren't enough words to describe how much she hates Paul for putting her in this position.. but what can she do now? She's in the centre of it all now, and she has to make a choice - even if it shatters her own heart.

Blissfully ignorant to the upcoming bombshell, Brie runs her nails along Stephanie's arms; her soul focus is to offer comfort and reassurance. Besides, seeing Stephanie this way makes her incredibly sad herself. 

"I.. I don't want to lose you Brie.." Steph cries, grabbing hold of Brianna's hands.   
"Lose me..? Why.. why would you..? I.. I'm not going anywhere.." She says, still confused, yet increasingly concerned. "Is it.. is it Bryan? Or Nikki? If it's Nikki, she's really not against us, she's actually very support-"  
"It's not Nikki.. or Bryan." The crying woman denies. She takes a huge breath. "It's.. it's me." 

Brie's face scrunches up. What does she mean it's her? Why would Stephanie be the reason that they lost one another..? The last time they were together, they were telling each other that they loved one another! Surely, nothing could be getting in between their happiness together, not now! Unless.. unless Stephanie means.. no. 

"Steph.. you're not.. you don't mean..?" Brie stutters, fearing the worst.

When Stephanie looks back with apologetic eyes, Brie's fears come true. She knows exactly where this is going, and she just isn't strong enough to hear it. 

"You're leaving?!" She shouts, standing up abruptly and resting her head in her hands. 

As Stephanie ponders how to phrase what she has to say next, Brianna begins pacing. Already, her heart is slowly breaking - how could this be happening?! They've been through so much.. it took them an army's worth of courage to even admit how they feel, and now Stephanie is just getting up and walking away? Somehow, they were able to build something beautiful.. complicated, but beautiful. And Stephanie wants to leave?? 

"I.. Let me explain.."   
"Explain? Steph, what's to explain? You're leaving! Barely anytime after telling me you loved me! How out of nowhere can you get?!" Brianna rants, breathing heavily. ".. Is.. Is that what this is? Some kind've payback for when I stopped contacting you?"   
"No! No.. I.. I wouldn't do that to you.." Steph weeps.   
"But you would leave me!"   
"Not through choice!" She blurts out. "Please.. please sit with me.." 

The tone of desperation in Stephanie's voice is almost chilling; Brianna gets the impression that hearing this is less difficult than delivering it. Although her instinct is to scream and cry, causing a scene won't help anyone. Besides, maybe if they could talk about this, she could somehow convince Steph to stay with her. She might be angry, but at the end of the day, she's still helplessly in love with her. 

"Where's this come from, Steph..?" She asks, taking back her hands.   
"I.. I don't want to leave Brie, I don't want to hurt you.. It's that.. s-something happened the other day. Paul came to the house." Stephanie begins, bracing herself before telling the story. "I think he's been trying to turn the girls against me.. I was supposed to be spending the day with them, but he came instead.. he told me that they didn't want to come." 

Listening intently, Brie finds herself tracing patterns across Stephanie's palms. Granted, five seconds ago, she was filled with anger. But as she listens, the anger is slowly replaced by sadness. She could never wrap her head around why Murphy and Aurora were so awful towards Stephanie.. but of they were being poisoned by their father, it would all make sense; any sense of anger Brie has left instantly falls upon Paul. How dare he do this to someone so wonderful!

"That's awful.. but.. but what does that have to do with me and you..?" Brie asks quietly.   
"When he was there.. he practically admitted to alienating me from them.. h-he.. he told me that.. the only way I could fix the relationship with them was to.. to.. cancel our divorce. He wants me to get back together with him.." She finally admits, tears falling from her eyes. 

Brie's next few breaths feel as though she's breathing sand paper - the poor woman.. how fucked up must Paul be to do that?! Nevertheless, to the person he claimed to love for years! 

Not knowing what else to do, Brianna pulls a sobbing Stephanie into another embrace, tracing soft kisses along her hairline. She can't even begin to imagine the torment that Steph must be going through; being forced to stay in a loveless marriage with a man who serially cheated on her, or potentially never see her own children again. There's no happy outcome in this, and the hatred that both women have developed for Paul is entirely unrivalled. 

"If it was anyone else Brie.. I'd choose you in a heartbeat." Stephanie says. "But they're my daughters.. I can't live without them.. and I don't know how I'm going to live without you, but what kind've mother would I be if I didn't fight for them??" 

Unable to contain the emotions any longer, Brianna begins crying with the other woman. The realisation that she'd have to let Stephanie go forever in a few minutes was starting to sink in, and she simply can't bare the thought. Over the past few months, it's been impossible to imagine her future without Steph.. but that'll unfortunately become a reality, and she can't stop herself from crying uncontrollably.

"I.. I know this is selfish to ask but.. is there any way that you'd choose me..?" Brie sobs. "I need you.." she adds, almost shatteringly innocently.   
"I need you too Brie.." Steph weeps alongside her. "There is nobody else that I'd want to share my future with, but.. I mean, would you choose me over Birdie..?" 

All of the oxygen leaves Brie's body. With that, she understands. This isn't a case of Stephanie not loving her enough to stay.. it's that she'll loose the most important thing in the world if she does.

Instinctively, Brianna rests her hands either side of Stephanie's face; she brushes the hair out of her face and wipes away the tears on her cheeks. Even with all the sadness, Brie still finds herself completely mesmerised by how beautiful Steph is. Maybe, somewhere in another universe, they're destined to work out, be happy together, and be free to live the lives they want so desperately.. if only it was this one.

"This is going to hurt me, a lot more than I can explain.. but I need to go." Stephanie chokes up.  
A flash of terror runs through Brie's mind. "Wait! I.. I want to read you something first.." 

Reaching over the sunflowers, Brie detaches the envelope from the bouquet, then opens it to read the note inside. Perhaps this is a bad idea - reading a love note to someone you're inevitably losing - but Brianna just can't allow Steph to walk away without hearing this. It could be argued that they've said all that needs to be said.. but if that were true, Brie wouldn't have felt the need to write it in the first place.

She takes a minute to prepare herself. Saying what's written might make this all so much harder.. but their whole relationship has been hard, why stop the tradition? Besides, what if she regrets not saying this later down the line? 

"Dear Stephanie.." Brie begins, already tearing up. "Call me silly, but I wanted to write this down, so you'll always have a physical reminder of how I truly feel about you.. I'll try to keep this short and sweet, but there's so much to say. I can't wait for you to become part of my family, you'll be the most amazing future step-mother to Birdie, and my little one who's on the way.. and I can't.. I can't wait to meet your daughters, and welcome them into my life as if they're my own.. To put this all simply, I love you.. Here's to our future.. Love, Brie.." She finishes, her cheeks completely drenched. 

Moments pass, Stephanie silently trying to process what she just heard; no one has ever said such sweet things to her before. If there was a single person on this earth that she'd give up everything for, it's the woman she's looking at right now. But if 'everything' includes Murphy and Aurora.. that person can't exist.

"I love you too, Brianna.." she responds, her gut wrenching painfully. 

Knowing she was about to walk back to a loveless home, Stephanie decides that she needs to feel one last moment of pure and raw love. Besides, she hasn't had the chance to do this yet.. so here goes. 

Gently, she leans forward and tentatively places her lips onto Brianna's; Her mouth feels soft and warm, and Steph can't remember a time where the moment felt more perfect. Brie isn't sure if her heart beats faster than ever before, or stops completely. Either way, this kiss is exactly what she needs. Neither woman gave a care that they're in public, or stop to think who might see them.. all they care about is each other. 

As they continue to kiss lovingly, for one ever so short, yet ever so wonderful minute - they both come close to forgetting the horrible word surrounding them. During this moment, they're the only two people in existence, and absolutely nothing else matters. 

The moment they pull away, reality crashes down onto them both; they breathe heavily, heartbroken at the idea of that simultaneously being their first and last kiss. Their foreheads naturally press together, and their eyes close. This feels so unfair - why should two people who love each other this much be forced apart?! 

"I love you.." Brie whispers.   
"I love you too.." Stephanie replies, squeezing Brianna's hand as she reluctantly stands up.

Refusing to let go just yet, Brie stands up with her, keeping hold of her hands. After some more deep breaths, Stephanie forces a smile, then rests her hands on Brianna's large baby bump. 

"You look after your little one, okay..?" She says. "And tell Nikki I said thank you..she treated me like family, and I'll always be grateful for that.."   
"You are family." Brie responds. "And you always will be.. no matter what happens, you will always have a home with us.." she assures her.

Before she breaks down crying all over again, Stephanie falls into Brie's arms for one final time. Their hug is only short, but it's probably the tightest one they've ever shared. Despite her whole heart yelling at her to do the opposite, Steph slowly backs away from Brie. Both women look into each other's eyes; they savour the moment, all too aware that this moment might just be their last. 

Across their lips, there's a small, but genuine smile - each woman giving the other a sense of reassurance - that they'll both end up okay in the end. As cruel as this all feels, they each know that their love will forever be there, even if they need to hide it away. 

Exhaustedly, Stephanie turns around, and begins to walk away from the park bench, clutching onto her bouquet of sunflowers; all she wants is to look behind her, and see the most beautiful woman alive once more, but she knows that it would only tempt her to stay forever. In oder to keep herself anywhere close to sane, she keeps Murphy and Aurora at the forefront of her brain; after all, they're exactly who she's enduring all of this for.

Brie watches on, tears in her eyes. She never knew that heartbreak could be so powerful, yet here she was. As Stephanie gets further and further away, the void inside of her heart grows. She isn't sure how she'll make it through the other side of this.. the only thing she's felt sure on these past few months was her future with Steph.. and look how that's turned out.

Eventually, Stephanie's silhouette becomes a dot, and then vanishes completely. Brie sighs deeply, accepting that she too needs to start heading back home, despite feeling as though her home had just been ripped from under her feet. 

Startling her mildly, her phone begins to ring; she fumbles around with her purse before finally finding it. Looking at the caller ID, another silent tear falls down her cheek. Bryan. 

"Hi sweetface.." Brie says distantly, holding her phone up to her ear. "Yeah.. yeah, I'll be home soon.. no, no I'm fine. Tell Birdie I'm on my way.." 

Her heart aching more than ever, Brianna silently begins walking, clinging onto the bump of her unborn child as she does. Her eyes set on the path ahead, it seems as though it'll last forever.. but then again - the rest of her life doesn't feel dissimilar. 

  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


End file.
